Surfside Beach planning makeover

Surfside Beach officials are turning to local planning experts, along with input from residents, for suggestions that could alter the future of the town’s commercial landscape… before suggesting any revisions to existing zoning laws.

A major challenge for this 1.9 square-mile community is to strike a balance between the needs of its residential and commercial constituents while carving out a niche for itself.

“We want Surfside to be recognizable and unique, and we’re trying to cultivate those ideas to come up with a plan for the future,” said Vicki Blair, chairwoman of the town’s planning and zoning commission.

To that end, the group is holding three workshops, the first of which was March 29.

One concept officials likely will take a long, hard look at is certain elements of smart growth.

At the March 29 meeting, Greg Lipscomb, principal planner in North Myrtle Beach, talked with the crowd about the idea, which promotes “well-planned development that keeps tax dollars in communities and provides more choices for families.”

“In Surfside, what they need to do is, instead of annexing raw land, they need to channel growth and redevelopment into their existing communities,” Lipscomb said. “The mixed use, mixed income and even the mixed culture make for the best neighborhoods.”

He said there was a healthy debate when the talk turned to parcels of land with multiple uses.

“There was not a consensus in that room that higher density is good, but that’s not unique to Surfside Beach,” he said, and added that zoning ordinances need to be revised to “create a more sustainable, safe, attractive community.”

Once the workshops are through, planning and zoning officials hope to make specific recommendations to Town Council members for their consideration sometime in June or July.

Source: Paul Nelson, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC