New mental health facility to open in Murrells Inlet – despite resident pushback
Dozens of Horry County residents appeared at Tuesday’s County Council meeting with color-coordinated outfits to make their voices heard about a proposed behavioral health facility.
Supporters wore matching green “mental health care is health care!” T-shirts, while opponents donned red tops .
Council sided with team green, eliciting cries deriding the members and promises to remember the decision in the next election cycle.
Now, a new behavioral health facility is coming to Murrells Inlet after council members voted to settle a lawsuit.
Asha Vista Behavioral Institute was first proposed last year as a 78-bed psychiatric hospital at 12287 Highway 707, the site of the former Hope Arbor Assisted Living Facility, which closed in 2019.
The facility says it will offer short-term crisis stabilization for adults experiencing conditions like anxiety, major depression, mood disorders and PTSD before coordinating a discharge plan connecting patients with local long-term resources.
Because the property is zoned as Highway Commercial land, it requires a 2,000-foot separation from residential properties. Located beside the Oak Arbor and Springfield subdivisions, the facility went before the Horry County Board of Zoning Appeals to seek a special exception for the requirement.
A psychiatric facility requires an exception, even though another healthcare facility would not.
But after residents showed out against the project at a September 2025 meeting, the Zoning Board of Appeals denied Asha Vista’s initial zoning request.
Then came the lawsuit. Asha Vista alleged the denial was an American with Disabilities Act violation, moving into mediation with the county in December.
“The regulations in case law are clear. Zoning rules and decisions that impose more restrictions on mental health care facilities than on other types of health care facilities violate the ADA,” said lawyer Travis Dayhuff, representing Asha Vista. “Entities that violate the ADA expose themselves to having their zoning rules enjoined, having their zoning decisions overturned, not to mention damages and attorneys’ fees.”
Under the mediated settlement, Asha Vista agreed to monitor the site with video surveillance for 24 hours every day, have a security guard present 24 hours every day and construct a new wall, fence and gate. The facility also promised not to provide out-patient drug treatment, including methadone or suboxone, which are used to treat addictions.
“When I first heard about this I was thrilled, but then I heard about the pushback from the community, and I understand that,” said Chairman Johnny Gardner “But then I heard about these concessions … This is the first time I’ve seen a mediated agreement where one side got everything they asked for.”
If Council didn’t agree to the settlement and lost the suit, Asha Vista wouldn’t be obligated to uphold the concessions for the new facility. But for others on Council, the agreed terms weren’t enough.
“The need to put a wall up would tell me there’s something odious or dangerous or something that would certainly impact [residents’] day-to-day lives,” said Councilman Dennis DiSabato. “So, while I would encourage the applicant to continue to seek available opportunities for mental health treatment within the county, I just don’t know that this location is the proper place for it.”
Many residents echoed DiSabato’s sentiment that more mental health resources are necessary, but not in their neighborhood. One speaker who gave public comment expressed concern that neighboring property values might rise slower and another compared the behavioral health facility’s presence to that of a smoke shop or gentleman’s club.
“No one in the community is saying there’s no need for mental health ... All the people in my community are saying is, it just doesn’t belong right there,” said Gerald O’Neill, who lives on neighboring Emory Oak Drive.
During the public comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting, several speakers voiced worries about safety, heightened noise and increased traffic, despite assurances to the contrary from Asha Vista.
Despite the debate, Council ultimately voted eight to four in favor of the settlement.
“This is a county-wide issue. The lawsuit is a county lawsuit. The money that will be expended is taxpayer money that comes from the entire county,” Gardner said. “I understand that your community might want to blow the tax money on defending a lawsuit that we’re going to lose, and they’re going to be able to do this hospital anyway without the concessions … but the rest of the county should not have to make that sacrifice.”
Construction is expected to take eight to 10 months and will begin early next month, according to Dayhuff, who said the facility will open to the public in about a year.
This story was originally published February 3, 2026 at 10:17 PM.