Developer seeks PDD on Highway 90, commission defers while asking for traffic and design guarantees

Developer David Schwert of Diamond Shores presented a plan Sept. 3 to rezone roughly 65.36 acres along Highway 90 to a Planned Development District that would allow 29 single-family homes, 30 townhomes and 9 cottages and retain substantial conservation space.

Schwert said the proposal reduces the number of units that would otherwise be allowed in the CFA zone — “we go from, like, 92 units down to 68” — and emphasized protections for approximately 73 live oaks greater than 24 inches DBH, wetlands buffers and sidewalks. He described design elements intended to limit traffic impacts, including turn lanes and a proposed dedication of additional right-of-way to Horry County for future road widening.

The project drew sustained public comment. Lisa Denonfort, who lives on Highway 90, urged “binding and protective guardrails,” asked that the project consider a roundabout to protect a centuries-old oak and proposed limiting some retail uses. Another nearby resident raised objections tied to a perceived moratorium on rezonings along Highway 90; staff and the developer clarified there is no moratorium that would bar this application but there is a county council resolution recommending against rezonings that create lots smaller than 14,500 square feet, and Schwert said the plan does not create lots below that threshold.

Staff noted the conceptual plan includes conservation land along the river, no new lots in the mapped flood zone and sidewalks internal to the development. Staff also advised that DOT has an engineer under contract for Highway 90 design work, but that design and construction phasing for widening will take time and specific timelines remain unresolved.

Commissioners pressed staff and the developer for enforceable design standards and for explicit wording in the PDD narrative to prohibit unwanted uses (for example, commenters asked that vape shops be excluded). Schwert offered to return with more detailed, enforceable standards and to submit a formal deferral request; the developer said he would provide additional materials and refine the narrative so uses could be constrained in the PDD.

Because commissioners expressed the need for more concrete design language and traffic information, the developer said he would file a written request to defer the item to the next meeting. The hearing ended with the item deferred so staff and the applicant could supply additional documentation for the commission to review.

Next steps: the applicant will submit a written deferral request and follow up with the commission and staff with revised PDD narrative language and supplemental traffic and design details before the item returns to the dais.