Will Coquina Harbor soon get a 12 story high-rise condo facility. The neighbors of this quaint village hope not.
However, Horry County Council is scheduled to take a 3rd and final vote on Tuesday, July 13th on the issue. The first two votes passed despite strong resident opposition.
Little River resident Katrina Morrison spoke at Thursday night’s Planning and Zoning meeting about the controversial development.
Morrison also filed a lawsuit against Horry County Council and Horry Planning and Zoning in an attempt to make sure the high-rise development does not move forward. Morrison says that all members of Horry County Council were served as of Thursday, July 8th.
POWERFUL LOCAL CONSTITUENT OWNER
The land in question is owned by two of Benjy Hardee’s companies. Hardee also owns A.O. Hardee & Son, Inc. of Little River.
A.O. Hardee makes millions of dollars through government contracts paving S.C. highways. Hardee is a man accustomed to getting what he wants.
County Councilmen Bill Howard, Johnny Vaught and Dennis DiSabato cited a 2006 order as the reason the county had to pass the rezoning request, despite opposition from the citizens.
As MyHorryNews reported: Councilman Dennis DiSabato, a real estate attorney, stated at the last council meeting, “The consent order had no temporal time limit on it,” he said. “It created a vested property right. That vested property right transfers with the land from owner to owner.”
Pam Dawson of the Planning and Zoning Commission disagreed. Planning staff told commissioners at the previous P&Z meeting that the proposed rezoning didn’t fit with the county’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan, because it was too intense a use. The county’s future land use map presented to the commission recommends building up to five stories at that location. But not 12.
Dawson said she voted against the rezoning for two reasons.
“The first being that as a commissioner, it’s our responsibility to look at the land use regulations and zoning ordinances,” she said. “Staff informed us during the Q-and-A portion following the rezoning application that this rezoning was not consistent with the Imagine 2040 long range plan, and I based by vote on that inconsistency. The second reason is that currently, U.S. 17 in that area is at 115- to-120% capacity, so it’s over capacity.”
Dawson said that while some commissioners may have had the impression that they had to vote for the rezoning because of the consent order, the county attorneys were prepared to defend either action.
“I think that’s strictly a legal matter and one that our county attorneys are more than capable of supporting or defending either way,” she said. “Our responsibility is a technical review of whether an application is consistent with land use regulations and zoning ordinances.”