RESULTS: December 5 North Myrtle Beach City Council Meeting

North Myrtle Beach, SC – December 5, 2016 – During the regularly scheduled December 5 North Myrtle Beach City Council meeting, City Council tabled first reading of an ordinance to amend the Barefoot Resort Dye Club Planned Development District (PDD). Coastal Resort Holdings has requested a reconfiguration of Tract IMF-3 located in the Dye Club by changing the approved residential uses from detached to attached, increasing the approved density and creating a new parking lot and site design. City Council has scheduled a December 14, 2:00 p.m. public workshop at City Hall to discuss the proposed amendment to the PDD.

City Council tabled until its December 19 meeting second reading of an ordinance to amend the Bahama Island Planned Development District, also known as North Myrtle Beach RV Resort and Drydock. An associated Development Agreement must be completed before second reading can occur.

City Council tabled first reading of an ordinance to rezone 9.33 acres of land located at the corner of Hillside Drive and 10th Avenue South from R-1 (Single Family Residential Low Density) to R-1B (Single Family Residential Low-Medium Density). With the exception of one lot with a single family home, the property is vacant and undeveloped as a remnant secondary dune. City Council will hold a January 4, 2:00 p.m. public workshop at City Hall to discuss the proposed rezoning.

City Council approved a motion to appoint Faye Chowning, Taylor Jones and Ron Nichols to the City’s Accommodations Tax Committee.

City Council passed first reading of an ordinance to rescind section 21-39 of the Code of Ordinances for the City entitled, “Pay and Display Parking.”
The City will no longer use the Pay and Display method of payment for City parking lots that require payment. In place of Pay and Display, those who want to park in City-owned parking lots that require payment would use an app called Passport Parking from a cellular telephone or a tablet to pay to park. For those who do not use a smart phone or tablet, Passport Parking also allows payment via standard cellular phone or payment through its website.

City parking lots requiring payment would be posted with signage informing users of the payment method, where they can download the app for free (Apple's App Store or Google Play), a web address for online payment, and a phone number to call if they do not have a smart phone or tablet. 

City Council passed first reading of an ordinance to authorize the City Manager to establish paid parking lots and paid parking zones, and to establish the method of payment for the same.

The proposed ordinance authorizes the City Manager to establish certain City-owned parking lots, public street ends and parking areas within public rights of way as paid parking lots and/or parking zones. It also authorizes the City Manager to establish the method for payment of the posted parking fees via kiosks or meters, mobile phone apps, pay-by-internet or phone or any other method of payment that may be available.

When it comes to paid parking in general, the City of North Myrtle Beach has for several years had one Pay and Display parking lot on 4th Avenue South adjacent to a large resort accommodation. The City plans to turn two existing oceanfront public parking lots, one at 3rd Avenue North and one at 4th Avenue North, into paid parking lots. Also, after improvements have been made to an oceanfront public parking lot at 3rd Avenue South, it will become a paid parking lot.

The public parking lots at 3rd Avenue North and 4th Avenue North are often filled throughout the day with cars belonging to the employees and guests of an adjacent resort accommodation. While their parking preference is not illegal, it does make it necessary for residents and visitors not associated with the resort to park on the second row and lug their equipment to the beach. By introducing paid parking to the two oceanfront lots, the City hopes to motivate the resort’s employees and guests to use an existing free public parking lot on the second row on 4th Avenue North or to park in the resort’s own parking facility, freeing up the oceanfront spaces for other users.

The public parking lot at 3rd Avenue South, also adjacent to a large property, has experienced similar problems. Those same problems also motivated the City to establish paid parking at its 4th Avenue South parking lot several years ago.

The parking fee at each of the four paid parking lots would be $1 per hour.

In making these parking changes, the City is not embarking on the widespread introduction of paid parking throughout North Myrtle Beach but is using paid parking as a tool to resolve specific, limited issues.

City Council passed first reading of an ordinance to rescind the current language of code section 21-33 and to replace it with language authorizing the use of an immobilization device or boot on vehicles parked on public property that have been declared a public nuisance.

Vehicles found parked on any street or other public property, which are found to be the subject of

$75 or more past due on previous traffic or parking citations, will be declared to be a public nuisance. The owner of the vehicle will be required to pay all outstanding traffic and or parking citations prior to the release of the vehicle to the owner.