Horry County Council to Study Carolina Forest MCBP

By Paul Gable

Horry County Council gave county staff the go ahead to develop a multi-county business park plan associated with the Gander Mountain development in Carolina Forest.

The general concept in the planning will be to add roads, water, sewer, stormwater drainage, underdrains, curbs, gutters and sidewalks in Carolina Forest.

The project would be initially funded by $2.2 million in special purpose bonds, issued by the county, to be paid off by a fee in lieu of taxes equivalent to 35% of the property taxes generated within the MCBP area.

But, with the MCBP concept, the devil is always in the details and multi-county business parks that benefit the general citizenry have a checkered history at bets.

The details are what will be studied in a council workshop as well as through three readings of an ordinance after a detailed plan is developed.

Several council members expressed hope that the plan will include completion of Postal Way through Carolina Forest, which would provide inner-connectivity in the area helping keep traffic off of U.S. 501.

In other business at Tuesday night’s meeting of Horry County Council, second reading of an ordinance requiring rental property owners to obtain business licenses was deferred.

The ordinance is designed to ensure rental property owners in the unincorporated areas of Horry County are paying their fair share of taxes and/or fees, some of which are currently falling through the cracks, according to discussion at Tuesday night’s meeting.

This type of ordinance is already in effect in Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach, according to council chairman Mark Lazarus.

Council member Harold Worley offered the motion to defer further consideration of the ordinance until a study is completed to bring Horry County’s proposed ordinance into line with what is in place in the incorporated areas.

One major outstanding question is whether owners of multiple rental properties will be required to obtain a business license for each property or whether one business license based on gross income will suffice.