S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) Releases New Proposed Beachfront Jurisdictional Line for Public Comment Through November 6, 2017

The SC Department of Health & Environmental Control's (DHEC) Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) is required by law to establish and periodically review the position of two lines of beachfront jurisdiction once every seven to ten years. The lines were last reviewed from 2008-2010. These lines guide beachfront shoreline development and support the state’s beachfront management goals.

DHEC establishes two lines of beachfront jurisdiction - the baseline and the setback line. The baseline is the more seaward of the two jurisdictional lines, while the setback line is the landward line. To locate and establish the baseline and setback line, DHEC utilizes the best available scientific and historical data, including state-of-the art LIDAR, GPS and aerial photography.

According to statute, the jurisdictional baseline position established through the current process must not be moved seaward from its position on December 31, 2017.

The setback area is NOT a "no-build" area. New and existing homes are allowed within the setback area under certain conditions and with authorization by the department. DHEC staff is available to assist citizens in understanding the lines and the process.

DHEC has developed an online tool that shows the proposed new lines in detail athttps://gis.dhec.sc.gov/shoreline/.

Additional information about the proposed beachfront jurisdictional lines, including a video on how the lines are developed, location details for public hearings and individual beach line reports are available at http://www.scdhec.gov/beachfrontlines.

DHEC will hold a public hearing for the Grand Strand Region on October 25, 6pm-8pm, at Horry-Georgetown Tech, Building 600, 950 Crabtree Lane, Myrtle Beach.

Public comments may also be submitted to DHEC-OCRM, Attn: Barbara Neale, 1362 McMillan Avenue, Suite 400, Charleston, SC 29405.

Facts - Paid Public Parking in the City of North Myrtle Beach

The city of North Myrtle Beach offers about 2,000 public parking spaces. 1,884 of those are free parking spaces and 116 are paid parking spaces. The city charges $1 per hour to park in the paid parking spaces. However, North Myrtle Beach property owners who have a non-commercial vehicle registered within the city limits on which city taxes are paid can acquire a free decal from the City and can park in all public parking spaces at no charge— call (843) 280-5651 for details.

The public parking spaces requiring a fee of $1 per hour are located in the public parking lots at 4th Avenue North (oceanfront), 3rd Avenue North (oceanfront), 4th Avenue South (second row) and 27th Avenue South (oceanfront).

These paid public parking spaces are NOT part of an initiative to move toward creating wholesale paid public parking in North Myrtle Beach. The four paid public parking lots are located adjacent to large accommodations. Many of their employees used to park all day in those parking lots, despite their employers having provided them with other parking opportunities. The City asked the accommodations to encourage their employees to park elsewhere, so that residents and visitors who are not working or staying at those accommodations could have the opportunity to use the parking spaces. The City made this request after receiving many complaints from residents and visitors alike. The employees did not change their practice, so the City turned the spaces into paid parking spaces. This has resulted in more parking spaces being available for use by residents and visitors.

North Myrtle Beach Area Historical Museum Seeks Volunteers

The North Myrtle Beach Area Historical Museum (799 2nd Avenue North) has a need for volunteers to assist with finishing exhibits for its reopening.

The Museum would also welcome volunteers to help greet visitors and to assist in the Museum Store.

To volunteer or to learn more about volunteer opportunities, please contact Executive Director Cathy Altman at (843) 427-7668 or email her at director@nmbmuseum.com.

You can also visit the Museum's website at www.northmyrtlebeachmuseum.com

Enjoy a Free October 13 Showing of "Monster House (PG)" at McLean Park in North Myrtle Beach

You are invited to enjoy a free showing of the movie Monster House (PG) on Friday, October 13 at McLean Park in North Myrtle Beach. The movie starts 15 minutes after sunset, about 6:45 p.m.

Bring a beach chair or blanket.

Concessions will be available from the North Myrtle Beach Lions Club.

The free movie is part of the North Myrtle Beach Parks & Recreation Department’s Movies @ McLean series sponsored by North Strand Nissan.

About Monster House:Three teens discover that their neighbor's house is really a living, breathing, scary monster.

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. 

October Tree of the Month

The North Myrtle Beach Tree City Board has identified a unique Live Oak tree located at 3600 Seaview Street in the Windy Hill section of the city as its Tree of the Month for October.

The Live Oak is a wonderful, mature specimen in its own right but what is perhaps most admirable is the care that was taken to preserve it while the five townhouses around it were constructed. It is the perfect focal point for the development and it provides shade and a conversation point for residents and passersby. 

The Live Oak at 3600 Seaview Street is proof positive of what is possible when people make preservation a priority. Mature trees enhance property and its value. Any established trees that can be saved during construction provide a head start since transplanted trees typically take longer to establish and reach appreciable size and shape.

Property owners and developers who are interested in finding out more about how they can preserve trees on their property are invited to contact the North Myrtle Beach Tree City Board at nmbtreeboard@nmb.us.

The Tree of the Month program began in 2010 as a way to recognize trees within the city that have been preserved over the years. It also provides a platform to remind people of the benefits and importance that trees offer in our everyday lives.

If you think you have the biggest, prettiest, or most unusual tree in North Myrtle Beach, or that your tree has a unique story attached to it, the Tree City Board encourages you to contact Parks & Grounds Superintendent Jim Grainger at(843) 280-5571 or via email at nmbtreeboard@nmb.us.

Mayor Marilyn Hatley Proclaims October 9 as "Pandas/Pans Awareness Day" in North Myrtle Beach

During the October 2 North Myrtle Beach City Council meeting, Mayor Marilyn Hatley presented a Proclamation naming October 9 as PANDAS/PANS Awareness Day in North Myrtle Beach.

Her decision to issue the Proclamation came about when Claire Calhoun, a local volunteer for the PANDAS/PANS Research Advocacy Institute (PRAI), approached the Mayor to talk with her about the need to make more people with children aware of PANDAS/PANS related illnesses and their symptoms. Claire's young son, Sam, bravely deals with symptoms of PANS.

Having learned more about PANDAS/PANS, Mayor Hatley agreed to help increase local awareness.

PANDAS stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections.

PANS stands for Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome.

A child suffering from PANDAS and/or PANS may have a sudden, dramatic change in personality displayed as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which can display as intense fear and anxiety. Accompanying symptoms may include tics, anxiety, depression, behavioral regression, deterioration in school performance, sensory sensitivities, severely restricted food intake, and more.

Both PANDAS and PANS are associated with infection-triggered autoimmune responses known as “molecular mimicry.” This occurs when our immune system mistakenly attacks normal body tissues because of the structural similarities between a particular molecule on an infectious agent and the molecules in our own body tissues.

Rheumatic Fever is one example of molecular mimicry where the immune system attacks the heart valves in some individuals after experiencing a strep infection. In PANDAS and PANS, something similar occurs where antibodies are triggered to attack a part of the brain called the Basal Ganglia, resulting in deterioration of movement, cognitive perception, habit, executive "logic based" thinking, emotions, and the endocrine system.

PANDAS requires symptom onset prior to puberty. The age cap is based on studies that indicated that 98% of 12-year-olds have immunity against strep infections and, therefore, could not develop post-streptococcal sequelae, such as PANDAS.

PANS has no age limitation, but symptoms typically begin during the grade-school years. Patients can also have their initial symptom onset during adolescence.

A conservative estimate is that there are 162,000 cases of PANDAS/PANS in the United States alone. PANDAS/PANS is likely as common as Pediatric Cancer and Pediatric Diabetes, and can seriously affect the healthy outcome of a child’s life.

For more information on PANDAS/PANS, please visit www.pandasnetwork.org.

Shown left to right in the accompanying photo are Mayor Marilyn Hatley, Sam Calhoun, Claire Calhoun.

Results October 2 North Myrtle Beach City Council Meeting

CITY COUNCIL PASSED FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE to amend Chapter 23, Zoning Code of Ordinances to include lot width reductions on streets using an “eyebrow” cul-de-sac design, an example of which is shown in the accompanying photo.

The existing ordinance permits lot width reductions on dead-end cul-de-sac streets within the R-1, R-1A, R1B, and R2B zoning districts; however, the same reduction is not available for streets utilizing an “eyebrow” design because “eyebrow" is not specifically listed in the ordinance. “Eyebrow” design is a preferred alternative to a dead-end cul-de-sac in the Land Development Regulations, with less impact on traffic congestion, and city planning and development staff believe the same lot width reduction should apply.

Additionally, the lot width exception does not include the R-2, R-2A, R-3, and R-4 districts. Staff is asking to standardize the Code by allowing any residential district the ability to reduce lot widths for properties fronting cul-de-sacs or “eyebrows.”

-- CITY COUNCIL PASSED SECOND (FINAL) READING of a Zoning Ordinance text amendment allowing wireless personal telephone transmission antennae on buildings less than 120 feet in height. The amendment prohibits the placement of cell phone transmission and accessory equipment on one and two-family dwellings.

In the past few years, the city heard from some cell phone carrier representatives about the need for better cell phone coverage citywide. Wi-Fi, 4G and 5G data use by cell phone customers has greatly expanded and gaps in coverage have persisted.

The amendment does not change the code regulating antennae or accessory equipment located atop flat-roofed buildings greater than 120 feet in height; those standards still apply.

The amendment does not address allowing freestanding transmission antennae beyond the existing standards already in place.

-- CITY COUNCIL PASSED SECOND READING OF AN ORDINANCE rezoning 11.66 acres of land located on Ye Olde Kings Highway from R-1 (Single-Family Residential Low Density) to R-2B (Single-Family Residential Medium Density). The property is currently undeveloped.

City Council emphasized that it based its decision to allow the use of the R-2B district in this particular instance only because of the generally substandard size of many of the surrounding R-1 parcels and the close proximity of the R-3 district to this property. Council emphasized that it would consider any future such requests on a case by case basis.

The North Myrtle Beach City Council holds its regularly scheduled meetings at 7:00 p.m.on the first and third Monday of each month at City Hall, 1018 Second Avenue South