Myrtle Beach issues stay on bar licenses for superblock

Myrtle Beach won’t be issuing any business licenses for bars or nightclubs in the Superblock area for 14 months in an effort to crack down on crime and protect the city’s family-friendly reputation, officials said.

The superblock now comes with a super roadblock for any bars hoping to open in the area bound by Ninth Avenue North, Broadway Street and U.S. 501 and Main Street. The area also includes Nance Plaza.

The latest moratorium comes two years after the city enacted a freeze on any nightclubs and large bars (serving 150 or more people) wanting to operate on Ocean Boulevard. The 2013 moratorium was passed without a provision marking its possible end.

The latest stay carries a deadline of Jan. 1, 2017 for the city’s planning commission to finalize a zoning plan that would spell out, once and for all, where the nightclubs and bars could go. Myrtle Beach City Council passed the resolution unanimously Tuesday.

In the proposed ordinance to halt licenses in the superblock, the council found “the number of drinking establishments in this area have a disproportionate negative impact on police services and business diversity.” It also found that under current zoning laws, the establishments were not restricted on size or concentrations in an area. The allowances were found to be “incompatible with long range economic health and quality of police protection of this area as a family-oriented destination,” according to the ordinance.

Similar reasons were given for the first moratorium.

“For the past several months, we have really focused a lot on some of the issues that we have with some of the bars and nightclubs in town. A lot of that … really gives our reputation a blemish,” City Manager John Pedersen told the council Tuesday.

He said the city has denied business licenses for Club Heat, and Jimmagan’s on the north end of town has been “turned over to the solicitor,” to investigate a public nuisance complaint.

“This is all part of a package to reclaim our family-friendly identity,” Pedersen said.

City Attorney Thomas Ellenburg said, “We rarely invoke the pending ordinance doctrine to study a zoning issue, (but) this is one where the superblock has been identified as a troubled area.”

He pointed out the fate of former Hip-Hop and R&B club, Levelz, which he said improperly opened for business on Ninth Avenue North within 300 feet of a church. The move violated a state law and Ellenburg said the business has since been declared a public nuisance and closed.

Other establishments in the superblock have also drawn the ire of local leaders.

“That location needs to be treated in a way that discourages this large footprint of nightclubs, bars, drinking type businesses while at the same time recognizes that cafes and restaurants that do serve alcohol stay open,” Ellenburg said.

“We brought up the idea of looking at it in terms of zoning,” he added. “The idea is to stop while we’re studying this … stop nightclubs and bars in this area while we try to get a handle on how best to address this.”

The stay on new business licenses in the area applies to all drinking establishments, bars and nightclubs. The establishments currently in operation can continue to operate, but future changes in zoning could change the future of the superblock business footprint.

Reach Weaver: 843-444-1722; @TSNEmily

This story was originally published October 27, 2015 at 7:47 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach issues stay on bar licenses for superblock."