Plans for controversial 372-home Horry County development heard. What happened?

Plans for a controversial new development of more than 370 homes are temporarily halted after residents raised concerns it could overcrowd the area and create devastating ecological impacts.

“The rezoning is going to completely destroy what this county is about, especially this area … I really hope you guys don’t approve the rezoning, because that’s where it starts,” resident Stephanie Cannon told the Horry County Planning Commission.

Dockit Enterprises LLC and Encore Real Estate Development LLC want to rezone around 187 acres of unincorporated land off of Highway 905 and Old Reaves Ferry Road from Forest Agriculture to Multi-Residential District-Preservation to build 372 new homes.

Dozens of residents came out to an Horry County Planning Commission meeting Thursday night to oppose the project. Prompted by the commission, the crowd raised hands to show their opposition. When asked if anyone in attendance supported the development, not a single person raised a hand.

Shep Guyton, who represents the developer, ultimately elected to defer the rezoning request until the next meeting in order to address “specific issues” raised at the meeting.

Some residents cited regional concerns of overdevelopment, like overpopulating schools and deforestation, saying the new development would worsen drought conditions and overcrowd schools and endanger roads.

Others raised specific flooding fears that developing the currently vacant land would decrease stormwater capacity. Although the Highway Coles Tract Development Agreement explicitly says that no lots will be located in the flood plain, not everyone’s convinced.

“Horry County is sending so much storm water from multiple developments into the same swamp systems that they connect to the Waccamaw River in our area that they can no longer handle the volume going in during storms,” said resident Michelle Kemp. “All that storm water combined is overwhelming the natural drainage of the swamps and wetlands in this area, with more frequent extreme storms continuing to cause historic catastrophic flooding across our county or country.”

The plan, which proposes sidewalks, eight pocket parks and walking trails, would also include 100-foot forested buffers around the development, as well as a 200-foot forested streetscape to buffer Highway 905 and Old Reaves Ferry Road.

In order to rezone the property and complete the project, the developer will donate 1.21 acres of land to expand the Horry County Fire Rescue Station 40 on Old Reaves Ferry Road.

One neighboring resident who spoke at the planning meeting took issue with the donation, dubbing it a “bribe” in her public comments.

The development would come with some new roadway improvements, of which residents remain skeptical.

The meeting crowd laughed out loud at the portion of development agreement specifying that the developer would contribute $200,000 to put a new traffic signal at the intersection of Highway 905 and Old Reaves Ferry Road, install a right-turn lane on the highway and reserve 25 feet of right-of-way be to widen Highway 905. Additionally, the plan proposes left-turn and right-turn lanes at the entrances from both Highway 905 and Old Reaves Ferry Road,

After nearly 40 minutes of public comment and discussion, Guyton deferred the matter. The gathered crowd seemed determined to show out again at the next meeting, with one person saying, “We’ll be back for more.”