MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – The city’s planning director says Myrtle Beach is running out of space for new homes. City leaders and planners met Wednesday to talk about updating subdivision regulations.
Myrtle Beach Planning Director Carol Coleman spoke with News13 before Wednesday’s meeting and explained Market Common is an area the city is looking to for inspiration for future building plans.
There’s been a recent trend for neighborhoods to look like the ones in Market Common – small yards, and close street and neighbor proximity. But some people who live in those upscale neighborhoods say it can be a little too close.
“We are running out of space and more people are moving here,” says Coleman, laying out the city’s problem.
Coleman says the city recognizes the need for more neighborhoods, but right now, there’s a lot of red tape to go through to build those needed developments.
“We’ve had a number of developments that have come through that did not meet the current regulations, so they were done in different ways,” states Coleman.
Those ways can be timely and inefficient. For example, current code doesn’t allow subdivisions to be built off private streets. To get around that rule, the city and developer must create a development agreement, and that process is time-consuming.
“It’s long, it’s drawn out, city council has to get involved,” explains Coleman.
The updated regulations would allow the planning commission to bypass a lot of council’s approval.
Coleman is also looking at how to allow smaller scale subdivisions.
“So something that may be as small as ten homes, or twenty or even thirty,” visualized Coleman.
Many of the new neighborhoods would have a Market Common-type feel.
“Quite frankly, I think the developers are trying to squeeze every nickel they can out of every piece of ground they can,” says Market Common resident Ed Russell.
Russell has lived in Market Common for two and half years, and says growth can be both good and bad.
“It’d be nice to keep kind of a small city feel but progress is progress and if it will bring more and better-paying jobs, I think it’s good for the area,” agrees Russell.
Coleman says the next step is to take the feedback from Wednesday’s meeting and work that into her current ideas. She wants to hold more meetings before any formal decisions are made.
