Traffic, flooding concerns brought up over proposed 80-acre development off McDowell Shortcut Road

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — The Horry County Planning Commission met during a workshop Thursday afternoon and discussed a proposed 80-acre development off McDowell Shortcut Road in Murrells Inlet.

No votes were taken during the meeting. The proposed development is located across from Ranch Haven Drive near Highway 707.

Developers with Diamond Shores are looking to build a little more than 100 single-family homes, but the land sits on nearly 40 acres of wetlands.

Because nearly half the land is considered wetlands, a representative with Diamond Shores said there are plans for ponds and they’ve done wetland surveys, as well as traffic studies.

He said the plans do not include turn lanes, because the speed limit is so low, but the planning commission could require them to include it.

“It is. You are correct. It’s a congested road, but that’s what suburban says that we’re supposed to do,” a representative said. “So, we have tried to accommodate all the challenges on the site, as well as the needs of the adjacent community understanding the needs and concerns about flooding in that area.”

Planning commission members said they’re concerned with adding so many homes to an already busy area.

Commission member Joey Ray said the road capacity is at about 95% and schools are at 100%+ capacity.

Paul Stecker said the proposed plan would be a “tough sell.”

“I’ve rarely gotten phone calls before workshop,” Stecker said. “I’ve gotten two or three already from constituents wanting to know what’s going on, what it is. I don’t have and usually do too much research before workshop.”

The commission also discussed plans for a medical facility on 44 acres of land near Highways 90 and 22 in Conway. Both plans will head to the commission’s next meeting in July for a vote.

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Adrianna Lawrence is a multimedia journalist at News13. Adrianna is originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and joined the News13 team in June 2023 after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2023. Keep up with Adrianna on Instagram, Facebook , and X, formerly Twitter . You can also read more of her work, here .

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