1 2 This effort is being led by an ad-hoc steering committee of the - PDF document

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This effort is being led by an ad-hoc steering committee of the Horry County Planning Commission. 3

A number of draft chapters, referred to as ‘elements’, have been developed so far, as shown in green. Those in yellow are still under development, and tonight’s meeting will inform the development of the future land use map within the Land Use Element. All of these elements are required by State Law to be included in a community’s comprehensive plan. The final Future Land Use Map has implications on all of the elements of the plan, so no one chapter can be finalized until the vision of Horry County’s growth is captured in the preferred land use map. For instance, if the community and Committee recommends the land use scenario that uses up more land area than another scenario, it will have a direct implication on the necessary road improvements and expansion of public facilities. 4

The Committee is wrapping up Step 1 of the development of the Plan. The input received at tonight’s meeting will be evaluated by the Committee and help finalize a complete draft of the plan. 5

We have been doing research long before the establishment of the Committee in order to present historic trends. The committee has met over the last six months to inform the creation of the plan. After the future land use element and map is finalized, the plan will be moving forward for a formal vote at the committee and then by Planning Commission and County Council. There will be a formal 30-day public comment period prior to a vote at Planning Commission, including a public hearing. Another public hearing will be held at County Council. If people want to stay informed of the progress of the plan, we recommend that you sign up for email notifications at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EmailUpdatesIMAGINE2040. 6

To date, there have been multiple opportunities for the community to provide input on their concerns and the development of the plan. In January and February, a community survey collected nearly 900 responses. Additionally, four public open houses on the development of the plan and initial input was received on the future land use map. In May, a Land Use Workshop was held to provide more localized input on the future land use. Over 130 people were in attendance. The meeting had 11 break out groups to obtain specific input by different geographic areas of the County. Staff has taken the input from the survey, open houses, and land use workshop to develop three future land use map scenarios. Tonight, we are seeking your input on which scenario is most appropriate to accommodate growth over the next 10-20 years. All along the process and moving forward, we are accepting public comments via email or by mail. Email comments can be sent to Imagine2040@horrycounty.org. Written comments can be sent to the Planning and Zoning department at 1301 2 nd Avenue, Suite 1D09, Conway, SC 29526. 7

To help inform you of how we have gotten to these future land use scenarios, we need to briefly convey some of the information that we have looked at to date. Far more information is available in the draft chapters of the plan. Population has been growing rapidly since the 1970s. Growth projections for Horry County are already being exceeded. Approximately 75% of the permanent population lives in unincorporated Horry County. This is a different trend than you would see in many metropolitan areas. This does not mean that there is less development in the municipalities, as many of our beachfront communities have transient housing for tourists and for second homes. 8

Again, most growth is occurring in unincorporated Horry County. 9

Future population growth is anticipated along the 501 and 544 corridors, south of Conway and mainly in Carolina Forest. The greater Myrtle Beach area, including the South Strand is expected to be the second highest number of people, much of which can be attributed to the growth in the Burgess community. The third highest population increase is anticipated in the Little River and Hwy 9 corridor, east of the Waccamaw River. However, much of this growth has historically been associated with second homes and vacation rentals. These population estimates were developed in 2015 by the State of South Carolina and locally adjusted with input from the Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments and local staff; however, since these projections were developed, we have had numerous residential development request rezonings and many developments begin, so these estimates are likely an underestimation of growth, but are the best data available. 10

Residential development has been approved in many parts of the County. There are more than 52,000 dwelling units that have been approved through the rezoning process and the creation of plans; however, these units have yet to be constructed. These numbers are based off of development approved as of early 2017, with a few major developments incorporated, such as Hague Marina in Socastee and Heather Glen in Little River. As you can see, these numbers coincide with the population projections and geographies defined on the previous slide. 11

More than ½ of new development will occur in the Little River, Carolina Forest, Forestbrook, and Burgess communities. Additional development will occur on the Hwy 9 corridor in Longs and in the South Strand along the 544 Corridor in the Surfside and Socastee areas. 12

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Beyond anticipated population change and development trends, the Committee has also looked at transportation needs, including major road projects. There are many projects that have also been recommended by the GSATS 2040 Transportation Plan, which looks are regional needs. However, there are a number of road projects that may be needed that are not regional in nature, but have an impact to congestion and quality of life. 14

We have looked at existing industrial sites and the need to diversify our local economy to attract higher wage jobs. 15

We have also looked at housing affordability and are aware that many people are cost burdened to pay for housing, as they are seniors on fixed incomes or working families that are employed in tourism and hospitality related jobs. Both the transportation network and the availability of homes and rental units near employment centers has a direct impact on affordable housing and transportation costs. 16

The Committee has also looked at the natural environment and areas that are important to the ecological health of the County and in flood retention. 17

The residents that responded to the community survey indicated that they love Horry County because of the beach and natural assets, the availability of things to do – from outdoor recreation to the enjoyment of tourist facilities, the warm climate and people, along with the natural surroundings, community facilities, rural character, and low cost of living. These are just a few things we are looking at when we develop the future land use map and the plan. 18

The community identified public safety as their greatest concern into the future, among others. Many of these concerns could be similarly identified in other jurisdictions throughout the Country. Growth patterns do have an impact on all of these concerns. 19

When asking people how they would like to accommodate future growth, they largely conveyed that they would like to see infill development and redevelopment, along with more natural space being preserved in developments. 20

They also indicated that they would like to see reinvestment. The larger the location in the image indicates the demand for revitalization. While many of these are in municipalities that the County does not control, our development patterns do have an impact on reinvestment in the cities. If growth is accommodated in lower cost areas outside of the cities, the necessity to redevelop in the cities can be deterred. 21

At the open houses in January and February, we had people indicate where they would like to see growth and what type of growth. 22

At the land use workshop, we had a detailed discussion and input for each geography of the County. 23

There was representation and break out tables based on geography of the County, along with one group that looked at needs from a Countywide perspective. 24

They were all given stickers with various land uses to place on available maps, as the groups came to a consensus on what uses to include. 25

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Each group discussed the impacts of various uses on the list of things above. 27

Staff synthesized the information from the meeting by land use. 28

For example, all commercial uses were grouped. 29

They were then compiled with information on existing land uses. 30

In addition to the input we received through the public open houses. 31

Conceptually, this is what that land use looks like. We then developed three different future land use scenarios that we are seeking input on. 32