Should Myrtle Beach limit capacity at bars and clubs in the downtown area?
A proposed change downtown could restrict bars and clubs in one of Myrtle Beach’s most popular areas. The city could accept public input before making a decision.
An ordinance introduced to Myrtle Beach City Council would enact an overlay zone to limit new bars, nightclubs and other drinking places to 150-person occupancies. It would target the downtown area, applying to “drinking places” abutting or adjacent to Ocean Boulevard between Grande Dunes Boulevard and the intersection of Ocean Boulevard and Kings Highway.
If passed, the restriction wouldn’t apply to existing establishments licensed by May 12, 2026, or businesses, like hotels and restaurants, where the primary function isn’t serving liquor.
According to Mayor Mark Kruea, the idea came from city staff considering potential limits on possible requests for new drinking establishments in the future.
“The 150 [person limit] is an arbitrary number, as far as I can tell,” Kruea said. “It could go up – I can’t imagine why it would go down – but it could go up, and just a ‘What if?’ If there are new businesses proposed, what would be the city’s comfort level in terms of size of those establishments? I don’t think the conversation is upon us, but in the event that it does occur, where would the city want to be?”
Council passed the ordinance to the Myrtle Beach Planning Commission for review to gather public input and make appropriate recommendations. The commission was charged with looking into the overlay zone’s boundaries, restrictions and other conditions, like geographic limitations, security, structural code compliance, noise factors, parking and more.
It’s unclear what exactly the commission will recommend. At a meeting Tuesday, commission members discussed possibly changing the city’s general code, building code or zoning code. Staff liaison Cameron Armstrong encouraged members to review similar measures implemented in Birmingham, Philadelphia and Rhode Island.
“I wanted to get this kind of as a jump-off point to the board to review all that information to come to our next meeting to prepare to have a robust discussion about this, about the appropriate conditions for drinking places on Ocean Boulevard, and any conditions or restrictions that y’all feel are necessary,” Cameron said.
The commission also considered introducing a public input process to seek comments from residents, possibly including a public hearing, but members didn’t establish a plan or timeline at the meeting.