Myrtle Beach New Home Community NEWS |
Loris City Council voted unanimously to forward the proposal from Heritage Lake Holding Ventures, LLC (the current owner of both the approximate 261 acre parcel and the approximate 99 acre adjacent parcel) the two parcels , to the Loris Planning Commission for consideration and a recommendation.
Area residents living in low-lying areas surrounding the tract flooded into the council chambers Monday, May 5, 2025 to object to the plan, claiming that stormwater runoff from the development would exacerbate flash flooding from rain storms, and cause a host of other problems. Concerns cited included traffic congestion, road damage, the displacement of wildlife, and overburdening the local fire department, hospital and schools.
The City of Loris Planning Commission will now be holding a Public Hearing for this requested annexation during its Regular Meeting beginning at 6:00 pm on Thursday, May 22, 2025, in the Council Chambers at Loris City Hall, 4101 Walnut Street.
As part of this annexation request, the developer is seeking one of the lesser dense residential zoning designations – R-1.7. The R-1.7, Residential District zoning designation is intended to foster, preserve and protect areas of the community in which the principal use of land is designated for detached, single-family dwellings, and limited residential support facilities at a density of seven (7) lots per acre.
Annexation and the City of Loris
Over the past few years there has been an uptick of annexations of properties into several cities in Horry County, the city of Conway in particular, but also the City of Loris. Annexation incorporates a property into the City limits. It is the process of transferring the parcel of land from an unincorporated area of the county (i.e. Horry County) into the service area and jurisdiction of a city (i.e. Loris). Being contiguous to the Loris municipal boundaries is a key eligibility requirement for annexation.
Annexation Benefits
o City Benefit - bringing more property and residents into municipal limits can reduce costs for services through economies of scale, meaning the more customers there are for a service, the lower the per-customer cost for that service.
Under the South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 5 – Municipal Corporations, Chapter 3, Change of Corporate Limits, any city or town may extend the corporate limits of the municipality in a manner set forth in Chapter 3 of this Code of Law.
Under these Code of Laws there are multiple ways to annex a property, with the most common being the 100% petition and ordinance method. Under this method the property owner signs a legal document requesting annexation, i.e. Petition for Annexation
o Annexation Handbook – Municipal Association of South Carolina
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