Granite Countertops in Myrtle Beach, SC

LITTLE RIVER – Horry County officials are considering a controversial plan to turn a Little River biker bar site into a high-end apartment complex despite residents’ concerns about traffic and overcrowding.

The plan would rezone an 18.72-acre lot at Pecan Street and S.C. 9 East from commercial forest agriculture to multi-residential, which would allow 374 apartments and more than 600 parking spaces to be built.

The site features the biker bar Harley’s Roadhouse.

Horry County Council will consider first reading of the plan March 7. Horry Planning Commission, the board addressing county development, approved the plan March 2.

John Danford, Thomas & Hutton’s project manager, said March 2 he believes there is good stormwater drainage and road connections on the property, which makes it good for the complex.

″(This project) is something we’ve put a lot of time and effort into,” Danford said. “It’s a really good piece of property.”

Hidden Brooke subdivision residents behind the property are concerned the plan would make the area’s traffic issues worse and reduce their quality of life.

“The infrastructure is not there,” Hidden Brooke subdivision homeowner John Margan said. “I don’t understand what these people are thinking.”

Residents said they already face challenges with leaving Pecan Street, their main subdivision road. The street opens onto Sea Mountain Highway without a stoplight, and S.C. Highway 9 East connects to Sea Mountain Highway with a wide turn. This allows cars to keep coming without reprieve, residents said.

Susan Kreyer, another local homeowner, said school traffic from North Myrtle Beach High and Junior High School also causes backups during the peak school pickup times, which makes congestion worse.

Kreyer said the plan also could increase school and health care facility overcrowding. Some residents have said they had to wait several months before there were available appointments for their local healthcare providers.

All five North Myrtle Beach schools already have exceeded their functional capacity for the 2022-23 school year. Functional capacity reflects a school’s space constraints, according to county documents.

“I don’t know how we’re going to funnel any children that are coming into this area into our already crowded schools,” Kreyer said. “And our children who happen to walk home from the high school will be more at risk with the increased traffic.”

In response, Danford said the Horry Board of Education can address the district’s overcrowding. Also, regarding traffic, Danford said Pecan Street is a public road so his client has a right to use it.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) -- For the first time in years leaders of Horry County and Myrtle Beach got together just to talk and build a better relationship.

There was no agenda or specific topics to discuss Thursday night.

Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune started the evening by talking about the importance of unity and working stronger together.

“When we are pulling in the same direction we can do so much more,” said Mayor Bethune.

Members of Myrtle Beach City Council, Horry County Council along with Myrtle Beach and Horry County leaders talked for nearly two hours at the Train Depot in Myrtle Beach.

Mayor Bethune and Horry County Chairman Johnny Gardner recognize during their first terms in office the relationship between county and city leaders was not perfect.

“Today was a breath of fresh air and everyone coming together it’s very good for us,” said Gardner.

No major issues were discussed as both council members were able to meet some of the new faces and catch up with long-time council leaders.

Mayor Bethune said she believes this was the first time Horry County Council and Myrtle Beach City Council have met in this type of setting with no set agenda or business to discuss.

She said in order to accomplish their goals and vision they need to all be able to work together.

“It doesn’t mean we won’t have disagreements but we can disagree and work together in a unified manner and that’s when we can make great things happen,” said Bethune.

Some of those future goals include improving infrastructure, addressing community issues like public safety, and affordable housing along with economic development and climate sustainability.

“We can’t do the things we need to do without the cooperation of each other as the mayor said unity is the keyword and I agree with her 100% our County Council is unified moving and so is Myrtle Beach and now we are working together,” said Gardner.

Gardner and Bethune look forward to making Horry County and the city of Myrtle Beach a better for everyone to call home and vacation.

Copyright 2023 WMBF. All rights reserved.

By Stephanie Moore

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MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina (WYFF) — There is no doubt that pollen is making an early appearance in South Carolina this year, and a picture of the yellow ocean in Myrtle Beach proves it once again.

Earlier this week, we showed a picture of an alligator in Moncks Corner covered in pollen and talked about the early allergy season.

And then we found this picture that Lakiesha Grainger took on Wednesday at the Springmaid Pier.

According to pollen.com the pollen forecast for the Myrtle Beach area is high for Thursday and Friday.

It was in the medium to high category when the picture was taken.

Tree pollen actually started showing up in January in our area. It was low, but just the presence of it that early is rare.

The tree pollen soared to high levels in February, with weed pollen even showing up months early from time to time.

Tree pollen usually shows up in March in our area and peaks in April.

Grass pollen starts peaking in May and June and weed pollen shows up at the end of July and typically peaks in September.

So if you are suffering from allergies, we are sorry to say this is just the beginning of the season.

Got allergies? SC doctors say allergy season came early, and could last longer than normal

Dr. Trip Johnstone, with Allergy Partners of the Upstate, says if this early start is any indicator of what the rest of allergy season will look like, you might need to stock up on tissues and medication now.

He also recommends the following:

– Avoidance of the allergen – Medications like non-drowsy antihistamines and nasal sprays – When all else fails, allergy shots can lessen allergic reactions permanently – “It probably means we’re going to have a worse season,” Johnson adds. “The Upstate area is pretty bad to begin with. It’s not like we have a milder allergy season, so what that probably means is a more prolonged season than a short one.”

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Millions of dollars will be spent to help restore Grand Strand and South Strand beaches that were heavily damaged by Hurricane Ian.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WMBF) – Millions of dollars will be spent to help restore Grand Strand and South Strand beaches that were heavily damaged by Hurricane Ian.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Charleston District announced it’s been given $97 million dollars from The Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act 2023 to repair damages to several beaches in Myrtle Beach, Folly Beach and Pawleys Island.

The projects will be 100% federally funded, with no cost to the sponsor.

“The District is excited to be able to partner with these beach communities to rehabilitate the beaches back to pre-storm conditions where they will once again be able to provide risk reduction to the infrastructure of these beautiful public coastal communities that we all can enjoy,” said Lt. Col Drew Johannes, the District’s Commanding Officer. “The repair of these projects will reduce coastal storm risk and protect the beaches that provide far-reaching economic and recreational opportunities for the entire state of South Carolina.”

To address the extensive beach erosion by Hurricane Ian, $56 million will go toward Grand Strand beaches, which includes North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach and Garden City. The city of North Myrtle Beach announced that $13 million of that funding will be used to restore its beaches.

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Mark Kruea, the spokesperson for Myrtle Beach, said repairing the dunes is important safety element when big storms hit.

“It is our first line of defense against a hurricane. It’s designed to take the ocean when it rises up and that’s what it did during Ian. Now, we need to put the beach back,” Kruea said.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates that North Myrtle Beach will receive 350,000 cubic yards of sand, Myrtle Beach will receive 650,000 cubic yards of sand and the Surfside Beach and Garden City area will get 500,000 cubic yards of sand. To put this into perspective, that’s about 150,000 dump truckloads from offshore sand sources.

Pawleys Island, which was closest to where Hurricane Ian made landfall, will receive $14 million for emergency rehabilitation. About 200,000 cubic yards of sand will help restore a 1.2-mile section of Pawleys Island. The money will also go toward repairing and replacing sand fencing and vegetation on the dunes.

The Charleston District has already initiated engineering and design needed to complete the repairs, but construction contracts may not be awarded until late summer or early fall for Myrtle Beach and early winter for Pawleys Island.

Kruea said the beach restorations probably won’t begin in Myrtle until 2024.

“It worries us from the potential of, ‘Will we get another hurricane this summer?’ Because again, the beach is there to provide that cushion when the ocean comes with the storm surge, so we’ll see,” Kruea said.

Folly Beach in the Charleston area will receive $27 million for emergency sand replacement due to Hurricanes Ian and Nicole.

Copyright 2023 WMBF. All rights reserved.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WPDE) — This summer could be met with some new looks for Myrtle Beach, as the Cultural Resource Committee discussed the next steps for two areas Thursday.

One is a space on 12th Ave. off of Ocean Blvd., right next to the 'Slingshot' amusement ride.

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The area is blocked off to drivers, but because it's lined by a sidewalk, members said not a lot of pedestrians use the whole space as it's intended.

The idea discussed, would lay a graphic design over the area, and maybe some seating for people to wait for the ride, or watch it from that space, instead of Ocean Blvd.

The design would be printed instead of painted because once a year heavy maintenance trucks ride through the area to work on the ride.

“They just lay them down, and it’s heated down with a blowtorch, and it sticks to the ground. They can print a design, it can look like waves, or it can be blue," Brian Schmitt of the city's downtown research and development said during the meeting.

Their next step is to open a request for graphic artists, and one member, Thomas Davis, said he had one of waves and sand prepared.

A little further up the road on 9th Ave., Schmitt said there's a space in the Arts and Innovation District opening up for some of their work.

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He said the owner of the alley next to the Aspire Hub is donating the space, and members discussed plans to put some lighting, tables, and landscaping in the space.

The talked about using each square on the building's wall for different murals, but since it's right next to the hub, one idea was to incorporate technology.

“Whether it’s someone pulling up their phone and the images are different when they’re viewing it through a certain app, or whether it’s projections or interactive lights, whatever it might be. It could be really cool to make this space—because it’s right next to the Aspire Hub," Shannon Farro said.

There weren't enough members physically present to vote, so Schmitt said they could do that through an email, and in the meantime, work with the city and other organizations to apply for grants and get the ball rolling.