COASTAL OBSERVER

Once the goals of Georgetown County’s newly-adopted future land use plan are implemented through an updated zoning code, the future residential density in the Murrells Inlet area will be cut in half, County Council Member Clint Elliott told constituents at a drop-in event.

“The problem with Murrells Inlet, the whole Waccamaw Neck, is it was zoned a long time ago for things we don’t want,” he said. “We need to down-zone, and we’re probably going to get sued. That’s the hole we’re in.”

Elliott, who represents Council District 1, voted with the 5-2 majority last month to adopt the land use element of the county’s comprehensive plan over objections from residents and citizens group who said it will increase the residential density.

Asked about those claims at a drop-in that drew about 15 people to the Murrells Inlet Community Center, Elliott said their figures were flawed.

“They were putting houses every place you could,” he said. “That’s how they’re skewing the numbers.”

Data provided by the consultants who created the land use plan for the county estimated that the updated plan envisions about 10 percent more dwellings once the Waccamaw Neck is completely built out than the previous plan, but it would reduce the number of dwellings that are allowed by the county’s current zoning.

The county budget this year includes $200,000 to rewrite the zoning ordinance, which determines what can actually be built on property. The land use element and its maps provide the legal basis for the zoning ordinance.

The county will continue to tweak the future land use maps. The Planning Commission is due to take up Elliott’s request to change the designation for 76 acres at the intersection of Bypass 17 and Highway 707 from “commercial mixed use” to “commercial corridor.” The former category envisions  eight to 12 units an acre. The latter envisions two to six units.

It is also due to consider a change to the “general residential” zoning category that will reduce the maximum number of units allowed for a multi-family project from 16 to 12 units an acre.

Elliott said he also plans to speak with owners of the few large tracts around Murrells Inlet that are still left for development about changing their zoning to a lower density.

“If I could get them to voluntarily rezone that,” he said, “It works with the neighborhood.”

William Cooper, who lives at Pawleys Island and had spoken against the updated land use plan, asked Elliott what he thought about the effort to form a new town on the Waccamaw Neck between Brookgreen Gardens and DeBordieu. The Pawleys Litchfield Municipal Study Group, whose members have not been identified, announced right after the approval of the plan that they have been working for over a year on incorporation. They have said in statements posted online that they hope to petition the state to start the referendum process by the start of 2025.

“People think their county taxes are going to go away. They’re not,” Elliott said. “I understand they’re frustrated.”

But he added that the new land use plan gives the council the legal basis to reduce residential density. He said he heard calls from opponents of the plan for a building moratorium, but called those unrealistic.

“We can’t tell someone as a property owner, ‘you can’t build on your property,’” he said.

He also heard concerns about traffic.

“We moved heree because it was the quiet section,” said Dana Sills, who actually lives just north of the county line but considers herself part of the Georgetown County community.

Elliott said traffic is an issue for the state Department of Transportation, although he has pressed the agency to adopt a 45 mph speed limit on Highway 17 between North Litchfield and Murrells Inlet to try to slow traffic.

Bill Hills, a forester who once ran for the District 1 council seat, asked Elliott to consider the impact of solar farms under development in the western part of the county. A 4,000 acre tract contains 3 million pines and over the 35-year life of a solar farm would generate $300 million in sales as fiber, he said.

“That’s taken out of Georgetown County’s economy,” Hills said, along with the jobs and related spending.

Elliott said he has concerns about a request to expand that 200 megawatt facility, now under construction, to include another 1,000 acres that would add another 50 megawatts. It was recommended for approval by the Planning Commission.

“That’s going to be a hard sell for me,” Elliott said.

A 5,000 acre solar farm is also being proposed in the Plantersville area, he said. It will have a community center and a job training component that will provide benefits to the community, he said.