COASTAL OBSERVER

A request to change the zoning to allow construction of a sixth grocery store in the Pawleys Island area raised concerns about traffic and the need for the store, the same issues raised when the idea was first proposed in 2017.

But like the store itself, the opposition was also downsized.

The 4.8 acres on the corner of Highway 17 at Petigru Drive is a “flexible design district” that currently allows 35,250 square feet of retail and office space. Only a 510-square-foot drive-thru coffee shop has been built on the site, known as Pavilion Square, since it was approved in 2015. That was built this year.

In 2017, Lidl proposed a 35,962-square-foot grocery store. The flex district zoning was changed to allow that. The company pulled out two years later, citing the county’s commercial design requirements for the Highway 17 corridor. The property owners at the time pointed out that Lidl had canceled projects around the Southeast.

The original mix of uses was restored to the flex district zoning in 2019. The new owner 3J7B Real Estate now wants approval for a 19,482-square-foot grocery store. County planners say they were told it is for Aldi. The owners declined to comment.

The Georgetown County Planning Commission voted 5-1 this month to recommend approval. The zoning change now requires three readings by County Council.

The proposal allows for a 2,800-square-foot expansion of the grocery store and another 6,850-square-foot retail or office building. Overall there will be a reduction of 5,658 square feet.

A traffic study in 2017 estimated that the Lidl store would generate 3,561 daily vehicle trips. Since the new store is smaller, the county isn’t requiring a new study.

“A new updated traffic study is not warranted,” said Dan Stacy, who represented the owners. “We’re stripping about a thousand cars a day out of that.”

Holly Richardson, the county planning director, estimated the trips generated by the new configuration would be 2,524 a day.

“Either way, that’s a lot of additional traffic,” said Duane Draper, who chairs the citizens group Keep It Green. “I think a new, updated, independent traffic survey should be completed.”

He also questioned the need for another grocery.

“Lots of people love shopping at Aldi, including my wife,” he said, but he pointed out that there is a store 15 miles north in Horry County.

Elaine Cooper, who rides her bike from her home east of Highway 17 to the Publix in the shopping center just north of Pavilion Square, said the lack of a sidewalk or multi-use path on Petigru Drive makes it dangerous.

“There’s a multitude of problems there for pedestrians and cyclists,” she said. “Adding another 2,500 trips is just going to be a hot mess.”

She also questioned the need.

“There’s a perfectly good shopping center in Litchfield,” Cooper said, referring to a vacant building that once housed a Bi-Lo. “Please look beyond dollar signs.”

William Cooper, her husband, pointed out that the three other grocery stores within a mile of the site each offer different price points. “I would like to think that we can use this property for a more diverse use,” he said. “We really need to look at the bigger picture here.”

They were the only speakers at a public hearing on the request. The 2017 rezoning drew seven speakers, including Marla Hamby, who was concerned that a sixth grocery store would put pressure on the other five and lead to another empty shopping center like the one Bi-Lo once occupied.

Hamby now sits on the Planning Commission. She said her concern with the current request is about traffic.

“Petigru is already heavily trafficked,” she said. “That traffic situation is bothersome to me.”

Although the number of trips generated by the proposed development was less, Hamby said traffic in the area has increased since 2017 and that a new study was warranted.

She cast the lone vote against the zoning change.

The current grocery store proposed a second curb cut on Petigru Drive to align with an entrance to the Pawleys Island Plaza center that includes Publix. That would require approval from the state Department of Transportation and Richardson said the agency had concerns.

Stacy told the commission that the owners were willing to forgo that entrance, but could resubmit a request if it turns out a second entrance is needed once the store opens.

He also said the traffic generated by the uses currently approved for the property, which include a second fast-food restaurant,  would be higher than for the grocery store.

As for the need for another grocery, “your job is not to approve what the private user invests his capital in,” Stacy told the commission.

“It’s difficult to say no more gas stations, no more doctors, no more lawyers,” said Elizabeth Krauss, who chairs the commission, echoing comments she made at the 2017 hearing.

Krauss agreed with Elaine Cooper that the pedestrian crossing on Highway 17 at Petigru Drive is poor and asked the planning staff to contact DOT.