A 68-home neighborhood planned for Highway 90 near the Wild Horse subdivision cleared the Horry County Planning Commission on Thursday, Nov. 5, and now heads to County Council. Commissioners voted unanimously to recommend rezoning the roughly 65-acre site for Shelley Estates, following county staff's recommendation to approve (via MyHorryNews).
The property sits along Highway 90 near International Drive. It's zoned a mix of SF 20 residential and Commercial Forest Agriculture (CFA) today, and the request would turn it into a Planned Development District (PDD).
Preliminary plans show 29 single-family homes, nine cottages and 30 townhomes, plus a narrow commercial strip along Highway 90. Developer representative David Schwerd said a PDD has to include some commercial, and described the strip as space for uses like a restaurant and small offices.
Schwerd's pitch was that the PDD is the lighter option. He told commissioners the owner could build up to 92 townhomes under the current zoning, and that the planned district would mean fewer homes and fewer cars. The flexibility of a PDD, he said, lets the builder place homes around the site's topography and keep the big live oaks.
"The owner doesn't want to sell off the property to developers that will clear cut the land," Schwerd said. He added that nothing is being built in the flood zone.
On roads, the plan would donate land along Highway 90 for a future widening. If construction starts before the highway is widened, the developer would pay for turn lanes.
The item had been deferred twice before, and in September commissioners asked for more information on the PDD.
Several neighbors said they weren't necessarily against the project but worried about traffic on the two-lane highway. Felicia Soto, who has pushed for a moratorium on large developments along Highway 90, questioned why the land needs rezoning at all. "We are opening up a can of worms if we rezone anything on 90," she said.
Lori Cox, who said she's lived on Highway 90 for 20 years, raised flooding and traffic. She said her commute of a few miles takes about 30 minutes even without accidents.
Commissioner Bunky Ford, who made the motion, shared the traffic worry but backed the change. "This zoning is better than what is in place now," he said.
Why it matters for Contractors
Shelley Estates is a small, mixed project, the kind a local builder or a handful of subs can handle start to finish: single-family homes, cottages, townhomes and a strip of small commercial space. Tree preservation and building around topography usually mean more careful site work than a standard clear-and-grade job.
It still needs council approval, and Highway 90 traffic is a live issue with neighbors, so don't count on a fast start. If you work in the Conway and Highway 90 area, watch the council agenda for the rezoning and, if it passes, look for the builder and phasing plan before reaching out.