Parking Consultant Update From the City of North Myrtle Beach

PARKING CONSULTANT UPDATE

A Request for Proposals (RFP) for a parking consultant or firm to assist the City in developing short-term and long-term public parking plans for North Myrtle Beach has been issued.

Responses to the RFP are due by the close of business on August 24.

It is projected that selection of a consultant would occur around mid-September, and that the successful consultant would start work soon thereafter.

As part of the consulting process, ideas and concerns will be solicited from City Council, City staff, residents, businesses and the general public. SCDOT will also participate in the process.

Final approval of resulting short-term and long-term public parking plans rests with City Council.

A short-term public parking plan would be implemented in spring/summer 2019.

A long-term public parking plan would identify phases to be implemented over several years, together with potential costs and potential revenue sources.

City Council to Meet in a July 30, 2:00 p.m. Workshop to Discuss the Pros and Cons of Bans on Single-Use Plastic Bags

The members of the North Myrtle Beach City Council will meet in a Monday, July 30, 2:00 p.m. Workshop to discuss the pros and cons of bans on single-use plastic bags.

While open to the public, City Council Workshops are not Public Hearings. Workshops provide Council members with the time needed to discuss complex issues. If there is time toward the end of the Workshop, members of the public may be called upon for comments. This Workshop is only the first step in a longer process of consideration.

As requested, City staff will provide City Council with an overview of single-use plastic bag ban ordinances enacted by other cities, and the results of some studies pertaining to the effectiveness or lack thereof of such bans. We will provide a link to this information once it has been provided to City Council.

Elements of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command will Participate in a July 26 Training Exercise (Water Jump) in the city of North Myrtle Beach

On Thursday, July 26, elements of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command will participate in a regularly scheduled training exercise (water jump) in North Myrtle Beach.

Special Operations Soldiers regularly conduct exercises outside of military installations in order to provide realistic environments to better prepare them for operations abroad.

The City of North Myrtle Beach advises residents and visitors that in order to help facilitate this military exercise, the public parking lot at 27th Avenue South will close the morning of July 26 and will remain closed until the military exercise is complete.

During the military exercise, a section of the beach at 27th Avenue South will close.

The public may watch the military exercise, which will occur from about 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and involves Special Operations Soldiers parachuting into offshore waters and making their return to shore in the area of 27th Avenue South, practicing all required skills.

Results - July 16 North Myrtle Beach City Council Meeting

Prior to their July 16 meeting, the members of the North Myrtle Beach City Council met in executive session for a legal briefing regarding the City of North Myrtle Beach vs SLF IV/SBI Sandridge LLC, et al Case Number 2017-CP-26-05918. Council took no action.

During the July 16 City Council Meeting, Mayor Marilyn Hatley presented Sheryl Randall with a Proclamation honoring her retirement from Horry County Schools after 30 years of exemplary service. Sheryl also has a long-standing and strong history in the North Myrtle Beach area as an active member of the community.

Sheryl began her service with Horry County Schools in 1988 and served as the North Myrtle Beach Middle School Director of Chorus during her time with that school. Sheryl’s commitment to inspiring each child in her care to develop an understanding and love for music has helped bring the joy of music to many children who would not otherwise have had that opportunity.

Through her own musical performances and those of the North Myrtle Beach Middle School Choir, which she directed, Sheryl shared many wonderful moments with the community.

Sheryl and the North Myrtle Beach Middle School Choir have also played important roles in the annual North Strand Community Prayer & Praise Event.

We wish Sheryl the very best in retirement.

City Council passed first reading of a proposed ordinance amending Chapter 20, Land Development Regulations, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of North Myrtle Beach.

Prior to second (final) reading, City Council will hold a workshop session on the proposed ordinance. The workshop is scheduled for July 24 at 2:00 p.m. at City Hall.

Planning & Development Department staff proposed a text amendment to the Land Development Regulations to address additional points of access into and out of residential subdivisions.

Under the proposed amendment, residential developments containing between 30 and 50 lots or dwelling units would have to provide one separate fire apparatus access road as required by the latest edition of the South Carolina Fire Code, in addition to one improved primary access road.

Residential developments containing between 51 and 249 lots or dwelling units would include a minimum of two improved primary access roads.

Residential developments of 250 or more lots or dwelling units would provide a minimum of three separate and improved primary access roads.

The proposed amendment allows fire apparatus access roads to be located within a private easement but all primary access roads must be located within a public or private right-of-way. In exceptional cases, the City’s Planning Commission may wave requirements.

The Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on June 19 and voted unanimously to recommend approval to City Council. No members of the public commented on the proposed additional accesses.

City Council passed first reading of an ordinance to adopt the proposed 2018 Comprehensive Plan.

The South Carolina Local Government Comprehensive Planning Enabling Act of 1994 requires local governments that adopt land use controls such as zoning and subdivision/land development regulations to develop and maintain a planning process. One aspect of this process is adoption of a comprehensive plan every 10 years to provide the vision directing and planning the future of the community. The Planning Commission prepares this document and reviews the comprehensive plan at least once every five years.

The nine elements required by the State for inclusion in the City’s comprehensive plan are population, economic development, natural resources, cultural resources, community facilities, housing, land use, transportation, and priority investment. The community facilities, housing, land use, and priority investment elements are required components of the comprehensive plan and provide legal support for the City's land development and zoning regulations.

The Planning Commission, assisted by staff, has been working on the re-evaluation and update of the comprehensive plan since the spring of 2015. The community participated in this process in two phases. Seamon Whiteside and Urban Edge Studio led the first phase and Stantec the second. The first phase occurred in May of 2015, focusing on interactive stakeholder meetings. Stantec held stakeholder meetings in May 2016 and focused on collaborative design work.

The Planning Commission and City Council conducted a joint June 21, 2017 workshop to review the draft comprehensive plan. The Planning Commission unanimously adopted a resolution recommending that City Council adopt the 2018 comprehensive plan at its June 19, 2018 meeting.

To view or download the proposed 2018 Comprehensive Plan, which offers many explanatory photos and graphics, visitwww.NMB.us and look under “Press Releases.”

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Mayor Hatley informed those in attendance that City Council will hold a July 30, 2:00 p.m. workshop at City Hall to discuss plastics bags and a variety of ordinances enacted by other cities to ban them from their beaches. Some members of the public have asked Council to consider such a ban.

Mayor Hatley indicated that, if after considerable study the City were to head down that road, it would most likely be in a gradual or phased-in manner, so that businesses would have time to adjust financially, residents and visitors would have time to become familiar with a new process, the Police Department would have time to determine how to enforce such a law along with all of the other beach-related laws it is expected to enforce, and other impacts could be understood and accounted for.

Although the public can attend City Council workshops, they are not public hearings. Workshops are intended for Council members to be able to discuss among themselves key issues that require more time than regular meetings allow. If there is time toward the end of a workshop, the Mayor may call on members of the public for their comments.

Traffic Plan & Reminders For the July 4th Fireworks Show at Cherry Grove Pier in North Myrtle Beach

People who go to the July 4th professional fireworks show at the Cherry Grove Pier should be aware of the following:

-- Show starts at 9:30 p.m. and ends at 10:00 p.m.

-- Operating a golf cart after dark is prohibited.

-- The sale, possession or use of fireworks in the city limits of North Myrtle Beach is prohibited. (The Cherry Grove Pier fireworks display is a permitted professional event.)

-- During the fireworks show, the 3500 block of North Ocean Boulevard (area where Cherry Grove Pier is located) is closed.

-- NEW: Parking is not allowed in the median on Ocean Boulevard.

As has been the case in years past, immediately following the fireworks show public safety personnel will initiate a reverse traffic pattern in Cherry Grove in order to accommodate the large number of vehicles leaving the Cherry Grove area. During traffic reversal the following will occur:

-- Ocean Boulevard traffic will not turn on to Sea Mountain Highway but will move northbound and southbound only.

-- Motorists will access Highway 17 North via 11th Avenue North.

-- All northbound traffic on Nixon Street and Duffy Street will make a right-hand turn on to Sea Mountain Highway.

-- All eastbound traffic on Sea Mountain Highway will turn right at Duffy Street and proceed to Ocean Boulevard via 22nd Avenue North.

-- Once fireworks show traffic has exited the Cherry Grove area, public safety personnel will initiate a return to normal traffic patterns.  

Please be patient and exercise caution entering and exiting the Cherry Grove area prior to, during and immediately following the July 4th fireworks display. It is a very popular event and traffic congestion can be very heavy.

North Myrtle Beach Public Parking Update

The City of North Myrtle Beach will soon identify and hire a consultant or consulting firm versed in traffic engineering and public parking in oceanfront cities dependent on tourism.

The consultant will work to develop a short-term parking plan for North Myrtle Beach for the primary 2019 tourism season and a long-term parking plan that will identify and project public parking needs for the next five to ten years, resulting in a phased plan that takes into account projected costs and potential funding sources.

In developing short-term and long-term public parking plans, the consultant will solicit input from City Council, City management, residents, property owners, business owners and visitors. The consultant will hold interactive workshops, during which members of the public can contribute their ideas for potential parking solutions and identify their concerns.

The consultant will also help the City to assess the benefits or lack thereof of “free” and “paid” parking, and their potential impacts on residents, property owners, business owners, and visitors.

The City’s goal is to emerge from this process having achieved reasonable, practical short-term and long-term public parking plans.

IN THE MEANTIME, THESE THINGS WILL ALSO OCCUR:

-- Until further notice, parking is prohibited in the median along Ocean Boulevard.

-- Traffic cones currently lining the edges of the median along Ocean Boulevard will be removed and “No Parking” signs will be installed in the median.

-- From June 27, 2018, onward, no person may place an obstruction of any kind in a public right-of-way in the city of North Myrtle Beach. Obstructions placed in a public right-of-way on and after June 27, 2018 will be removed. To determine the width of a public right-of-way along a roadway, please contact the North Myrtle Beach Public Works Department at 843-280-5500.

-- The City will begin to address obstructions that property owners have placed in public rights-of-way citywide prior to June 27, 2018, initially focusing on privately erected "no parking" signs and other easily removable obstructions. City personnel will communicate directly with each property owner to explain why and when obstructions must be removed.

-- The City will wait until its consultant has reviewed available and potential parking locations before addressing other larger obstructions that property owners have placed in public rights-of-way.

North Myrtle Beach Department of Public Safety Offers Free REFUSE TO BE A VICTIM® Crime Prevention Seminar

What: Free Refuse to Be a Victim® Crime Prevention Seminar

When: July 12, 2018 - 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Where: City Hall, 1018 Second Avenue South

Who: Teenagers and older

The North Myrtle Beach Department of Public Safety will hold a free Refuse to Be A Victim® crime prevention and personal safety seminar July 12, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at North Myrtle Beach City Hall, 1018 Second Avenue South. This free National Rifle Association award-winning crime prevention and personal safety seminar is open to people in their teens and older.

Developed in response to nationwide requests for crime prevention and personal safety seminars, Refuse to Be A Victim® teaches methods to avoid dangerous situations and prevent confrontations with criminals.

Seminar participants will be introduced to a variety of common sense crime prevention and personal safety strategies and devices that may be integrated into their personal, home, automobile, telephone, technological, and travel security.

To register, please contact North Myrtle Beach Crime Prevention Officer L.CPL William C McLeod at 843-280-5623 or email wcmcleod@nmb.us, or visithttp://refuse.nra.org/find-a-seminar.aspx for more information.