PDF Garden City Area Plan - Horry County Government

WHAT ARE AREA PLANS?In an effort to keep pace with the changes that are occurring throughoutHorry County, County Council has authorized the creation of area plansfor a number of communities. There are currently two area plans indevelopment, while studies have been completed for three additionalareas of the County. Study areas can be added as future growth dictates.Area plans are designed to give the community an opportunity todiscuss the direction of growth and development in their area. Areaplans also allow citizens to make recommendations to County Councilon how questions regarding development in their community should beapproached. Area plans can be used to cover elements of the HorryCounty Comprehensive Plan, such as the land use element, in greaterdetail; they can also address issues that community members feel areimportant, but are not discussed in the Comprehensive Plan.Each committee, set up by the Horry County Planning Commission,determines the direction and scope of the plan that they are creating.When the committee has created a working plan it is presented to thecommunity for comment and discussion. The plan can then be revisedand additional comments sought. Once an area plan has been finalizedand accepted by County Council, it becomes a component of theComprehensive Plan that will be referenced when action are taken thataffect the specified area are taken.THE GARDEN CITY PLANNINGPROCESSAt the request of Horry County Council the Planning Commission hasundertaken a study of the Garden City area and developed a plan toaddress development and other issues. District 5 CouncilRepresentative Howard Barnard III liaised with the Town of SurfsideBeach and Georgetown County to ensure that the plan took intoconsideration its links to the wider region and invited representativesfrom both areas to participate on the committee.GARDEN CITY COMMUNITYPLAN COMMITTEEChairman, Pamela Hobeika, Planning Commission, District 4Ed McMenamin, Planning Commission, District 5Andy Woodward, Garden CityJim Allison, Garden CityHoward Gold, Garden CityDavid Benton, Town of Surfside BeachAl Hitchcock, Murrells Inlet 2007The Garden City Community Plan Committee held ten meetings overthe course of 2005 – 2006 to develop the plan. As the first step in theplanning process a community meeting was held at Seaside ElementarySchool on January 25, 2005. Approximately 125 residents attendedand offered suggestions and advice on a wide range of issues. On thebasis of community input, the committee developed the Garden CityCommunity Plan.The Garden City study area is roughly bounded by the Town ofSurfside beach to the north, Georgetown County to the south, theAtlantic Ocean to the east and Highway 17 Bypass to the west. Thestudy area is approximately 5.5 square miles, with 1.8 miles ofbeachfront. Based on 2000 U.S. Census data the population of theGarden City area was 9,357.Housing in Garden City is varied with 2,896 single-family homes,2,209 townhouses, condominiums and apartments, and 2,987 mobilehomes. A significant portion of the housing stock is occupied on a parttime, seasonal basis.The Garden City Community Plan addresses six broad topics:• Traffic and Circulation• Parks and Recreation• Natural Resources and the Environment• The East Coast Greenway• Public Safety• Stormwater Management• Land UseintroGarden City Community Plan1