Golf Cart Parking No Longer Allowed in the Horseshoe on Main Street During City's Free Thursday Evening Concerts

Golf carts may no longer be parked in the Horseshoe on Main Street during the City’s free Thursday evening concerts.

As the free concert series has become better known, attendance has grown to as many as 3,500 people per concert. The golf carts take up room that is now needed for seating.

Golf cart owners who have traditionally parked in the Horseshoe for the free Thursday evening concerts must now find appropriate alternate parking.

The Entertainers to Perform in a FREE June 23 Concert at the Horseshoe on Main Street

The public is invited to enjoy a free June 23, 7pm-9pm concert featuring The Entertainers at the Harold Bessent Band Stand at the Horseshoe on Main Street in North Myrtle Beach. The Entertainers are a beach music band from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Patrons and concert-goers are encouraged to bring their beach chairs.

The free concert is part of the North Myrtle Beach Parks & Recreation Department’s Music on Main summer concert series sponsored by Anderson Brothers Bank.

About The Entertainers: Beach music has long been a tradition in the South, and The Entertainers are proud to have shared in that tradition for over 30 years. The Entertainers were founded in 1980 and scored their first regional smash hit with "Living For The Summer" that same year. This song helped propel the group to the forefront of beach music, which led to their playing the finest clubs along the Grand Strand, corporate conventions, and weddings and festivals from Washington, DC to Naples, Florida.

While staying true to their rhythm and blues and beach music roots, the group also satisfies the most diverse audiences by playing selections from the latest Top 40, classic rock & roll and country music. The group's years of performing experience and recording prowess culminated in the release of their latest album entitled, "The Inside Story". This record, which contains the #1 beach music hit, "Thank Goodness She Cheated" and classic beach and soul hits, will surely lead you to the dance floor with a smile on your face.

For day of event weather information call the “Rec Check” hotline at (843) 280-5594 ext. 3,  www.Facebook.com/NMBParksandRec, or visit their website http://parks.nmb.us.

NMB PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT HOLDS FREE JUNE 18, 10AM-3PM, “WILDLAND FIRE EDUCATION” OPEN HOUSE AT FIRE STATION #1 (2nd Avenue South)

Wildfires only happen in undeveloped, forested areas far away from residential neighborhoods, right? Absolutely wrong.

For example, on April 23, 2009 the city of North Myrtle Beach experienced a wildfire that began in Horry County, jumped a major roadway, then burned about 75 homes in the city limits. One of the main fire prevention issues that arose from that fire was the use of pine straw as a landscaping element next to structures. From that wildfire was also born the city of North Myrtle Beach Wildland Firefighting Team, and an annual focus on proper landscaping and other precautions that home owners and business owners can employ to reduce chances that their properties will be damaged by wildland fires.

On June 18, 10am-3pm, the North Myrtle Beach Public Safety Department will hold a “Wildland Fire Education” open house at Fire Station #1, 1018 2nd Avenue South. The public is invited to come to the open house, and encouraged to bring the whole family. Food and refreshments will be provided to all who come to the open house.   

The SC Forestry Commission will be on site with their interactive display. City fire and police vehicles will be on display. The Fire Marshal's Office will have their fire safety house set up and will provide tours of the house. Children can use a fire hose and spray targets.  

New for this year is an onsite a mockup of the exterior of a home, and through a live display firefighters will show the fire damage that can be caused by fire when pine straw is used as a landscaping material versus other safer materials. 

Understanding wildland fire safety is important to North Myrtle Beach and the Horry County area.

Rock Machine Performs in a FREE June 16 Concert on Main Street

The public is invited to enjoy a free June 16, 7pm-9pm concert featuring Rock Machine on Main Street in North Myrtle Beach.  Rock Machine performs rock music from the seventies through the nineties.

Patrons and concert-goers are encouraged to bring their beach chairs.

The free concert is part of the North Myrtle Beach Parks & Recreation Department’s Music on Main summer concert series sponsored by Anderson Brothers Bank.

 For day of event weather information call the “Rec Check” hotline at (843) 280-5594 ext. 3, www.Facebook.com/NMBParksandRec, or visit their websitehttp://parks.nmb.us

North Myrtle Beach High School Art Students Transform Trash Dumpsters into Works of Art

Trash dumpsters are not the most attractive objects, so a group of North Myrtle Beach High School art students and their teacher decided to put their creative talents to work on a few dumpsters and turned them into functional works of art.

With the assistance of North Myrtle Beach Recreation Programs Operations Director Gregg Barnhill, who also serves as staff liaison for the Keep North Myrtle Beach Beautiful Committee, and Community Services Public Safety Officer Julie Smith, Tina Martin, a North Myrtle Beach High School art teacher and National Art Honor Society sponsor, organized an opportunity for her students to transform trash dumpsters located on Hillside Drive off Main Street into artworks in an effort to make a more beautiful environment.

The students chose to transform the dumpsters into aquariums of a sort, each one featuring different species of sea life that can be found in the ocean off our beaches.

Martin said that she and her students were “very excited to take on this art/community beautification project.” She also thanked Barnhill and Smith, and the city’s sanitation department for their cooperation and encouragement.

Students who participated in the project included Carly Kaufmann, Emma Keiner, Devin Conn, Jessica Beasley, Lizzie Jordan, Faith Jordan, Skyler Wallace-White, Alex Sophia, Kaylie Carpenter, and Aurora Downey.






RESULTS: June 6 City Council Meeting

During their June 6 meeting, the members of the North Myrtle Beach City Council approved a motion to issue a special event permit for a July 4, 9:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m. professional fireworks display at the Cherry Grove Pier. The City of North Myrtle Beach and the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce are co-sponsors of this annual event.

City Council approved a motion to issue a special event permit for the parks and recreation department’s Music on Main concert series. The free concerts are held each Thursday, 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m., alternately at the Horseshoe (11 South Ocean Boulevard) and 202 Main Street from June 9 through October 6. The Music on Main concert series is sponsored by Anderson Brothers Bank. For a complete listing of concerts offered, visithttp://parks.nmb.us.

City Council passed second (final) reading of an ordinance to amend the zoning ordinance text as it pertains to temporary, seasonal requirements for near-beach parking.

Like other coastal towns and cities, North Myrtle Beach is in need of more near-ocean parking opportunities for residents and visitors. The need increases annually as tourism attendance grows and as residential developments are added within and outside the city limits.

Some who own lots in commercial sections of the city, such as Main Street, would like to offer year-round paid parking opportunities within 1,000 feet or less of the oceanfront. These privately owned and operated parking lots might be attractive to residents and visitors who don’t mind a short walk to the beach or paying for the convenience. Providing relief from paving, curbing and landscaping requirements within such parking lots makes their development financially feasible.

City Council held a Public Hearing on the proposed Parkway Planned Development District Agreement. No members of the public addressed City Council on the proposed agreement.

City Council passed first reading of an ordinance to amend the Parkway Planned Development District Agreement. The amendment will be accomplished via an amendment to the Parkway PDD Development Agreement and two additional amendments regarding the portion of the land to be developed by Coterra Chestnut, LLC and the portion of the land to be developed by NGD Property I, LLC and NDG Property II, LLC.

The agreement is applicable to all landowners within the PDD. To view a copy of the proposed agreement, visitwww.nmb.us and access the June 6 City Council meeting agenda packet or email pcdowling@nmb.us and a copy will be sent to you.

City Council denied first reading of an ordinance to amend the Zoning Ordinance text, Sections 23-68.2, to create pruning standards within the tree preservation regulations.

The proposed ordinance was generated by a concern among city parks and grounds personnel that some property owners were “topping” their canopy trees while pruning them, which can result in the death of a canopy tree over time. City Council determined that the ordinance as proposed was too subjective and, as written, would be difficult to enforce.

Council passed first reading of an ordinance to rezone a 6.4 acre lot located on Main Street from HC (Highway Commercial) to PDD (Planned Development District).

Authorized agent David Glymph, on behalf of Cyn Mar Designs, Inc., submitted a petition for the rezoning of the lot, located between Barefoot Church and the BB&T bank on Main Street. It is also adjacent to a single-family residential neighborhood. The applicant wants to change the zoning district from HC (Highway Commercial) to PDD (Planned Development District). The development would be known as Town Centre on Main.

The property is vacant and unimproved. The Future Land Use Map in the City's 2010 Comprehensive Plan Update identifies the location with a "Highway Oriented Commercial" land use class. The proposed zoning district, PDD, is not a specifically recommended zoning district of this land use class, however, Chapter 6 "Future Growth" and Chapter 5 "Transportation" goals of the Comprehensive Plan support the request.

The purpose of the PDD zoning district is "to encourage flexibility in the development of land in order to promote its most appropriate use; to improve the design, character and quality of new development; to facilitate the provision of streets and utilities; and to preserve the natural and scenic features of open areas."

The proposed PDD is seen as an extension of the ongoing transformation of Main Street. Its prime location could encourage increased commercial and recreational activities along the Main Street corridor. Town Centre's architecture would reflect regional influences of the South Carolina lowcountry and would provide an attractive streetscape with an urban feel while maintaining a friendly, casual resort ambiance. The concept provides extensive pedestrian-friendly walkways within the development and many connections to existing city sidewalks. A proposed central plaza would adjoin the sidewalk along Main Street to engage the passerby with over 400 linear feet of highly visible and attractive frontage and access.

The proposal represents a mixed-use, connected, walkable and livable neighborhood designed to integrate into the existing community fabric.

As proposed, there would be 14,800 square feet of lease space, featuring mix of retail, office and dining. A freestanding 3,400 square foot restaurant, providing a focal point for the development and a venue to enjoy the natural water amenity located there, is also proposed.

The proposal includes 26 three-bedroom 2,553 square foot single-family attached townhome residences. Residences would be offered in both a mixed-use setting and straight residential land uses.

There would be a total of 20 1,728 square feet condominium units, for a total of 34,560 square feet of interior living space. The multifamily residences would be two-story condominium units located above ground-floor commercial lease space. The units would be accessible by elevator and stairs from the main plaza level.

The proposed project would be completed in seven phases, with the first phase to include the construction of seven three-bedroom attached townhomes and roadways providing connections from Cedar Avenue and Main Street.

Prior to second reading, City Council has asked the developer to provide a more precise development time frame, to reorganize some of the proposed development phases, to consider moving the location of the freestanding restaurant to a different location on the lake so that it is farther from and less intrusive to an existing residential neighborhood, and to ultimately achieve a consensus from an adjacent residential neighborhood over a proper method for screening of the property.

City Council tabled until its June 20 meeting the second reading of an ordinance to annex and zone one lot located adjacent to the Parkway Group PDD (PDD), which is located west of the Intracoastal Waterway. Council wants to wait until an associated Development Agreement has been approved before giving second reading to the proposed annexation and zoning.

City Council tabled until its June 20 meeting second reading of an ordinance for a major amendment to the Parkway Group Planned Development District (PDD) to allow changes to the previously approved phase known as the Waterway Hills Tract and to add a newly annexed area known as the Wilson Chestnut Tract. The area is referred to as “Grande Dunes North” in the PDD, which is located west of the Intracoastal Waterway. Council wants to wait until an associated Development Agreement has been approved before giving second reading to the proposed ordinance.

City Council tabled until its June 20 meeting second reading of an ordinance to amend the Parkway Group Planned Development District (PDD) to allow changes to the previously approved residential tracts known as Seashore Farms and L.L. Chestnut, referred to as “Waterside” in the PDD. Council wants to wait until an associated Development Agreement has been approved before giving second reading of the proposed ordinance

Mayor Marilyn Hatley Names June 5-11 as “National Garden Week” in North Myrtle Beach

On June 1, Mayor Marilyn Hatley presented a proclamation to representatives of the Driftwood Garden Club setting aside the week of June 5-11 as National Garden Week in North Myrtle Beach.
L-R: Driftwood Garden Club Vice President Peggy Bias, Club Member & City Clerk Merideth Smith, Mayor Marilyn Hatley, Driftwood Garden Club President Joan Schuster, Club Members Emily Stephens and JoAnn Johnson.
Mayor Hatley’s proclamation notes that gardeners have a “passion for nurturing the beauty and resources of the earth through the planting of seeds, the care of all plants, and the riches of their efforts.” It also says that “gardeners advocate the importance of all creatures, large and small, that share our world and their roles in a balanced and productive ecology.” Gardening promotes a healthy lifestyle that lasts a lifetime, helps reduce stress from other areas of life, and teaches that rewards can come from diligent efforts. Mayor Hatley said that garden clubs are important to every community because they ensure a continued focus on preserving and enhancing natural beauty within the community.