HORRY COUNTY PARKS AND OPEN SPACE PLAN Prepared by: Horry County Planning & Zoning Department in cooperation with the Parks and Open Space Board . Mail address: Horry County Government and Justice Center 1301 Second Avenue Suite 1D09 Conway, SC 29526 USA Phone: (843) 915-5340 Horry County Parks and Open Space Plan 2 Horry County Parks and Open Space Plan 3 Horry County Parks and Open Space Plan 4 Horry County Parks and Open Space Plan 5 Acknowledgements This document has been realized in collaboration with the following members of the Horry County Parks and Open Space Board from autumn 2007 until summer 2008: • Janice Dowe, Chairwoman & District 3 • Sam Ward, Vice Chairman & District 11 • Carl Claytor, District 9 • Kitty Howell, District 5 • Christine Keasler, District 4 • Cynthia Swanson Powell, District 2 • Nancy Seeds, District 8 • Mike Todd, District 10 Special thanks go out to Mrs. Nancy Seeds, who has dedicated a lot of her personal time to this project. Furthermore, thanks go out to following colleagues and members of mentioned institutions: • Adam Emrick, Horry County Planning & Zoning Department • Vicki Stone, Horry County Planning & Zoning • Roy Taylor, Horry County Planning & Zoning Department • Christine Ellis, Coastal Carolina University, Waccamaw Watershed Academy • Dave Fuss, Coastal Carolina University, Waccamaw Watershed Academy • Susan Libes, Coastal Carolina University, Waccamaw Watershed Academy As the compiler of the Horry County Parks and Open Space Plan, I hereby attest to have only used publically accessible information sources under respect of any copyrights as quoted within the text and/or under the section “Bibliography” of this document. Recent revisions as to include the Green Infrastructure Concept Map as well as maps depicting the locations of public parks, boat landings and conserved lands have been inserted in this latest document as of spring 2010 (pages 28-31; 119-121). Christopher C. Klement Senior Planner Horry County Planning & Zoning Dept. Conway, South Carolina June, 2010 Horry County Parks and Open Space Plan 6 Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................... 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................... 7 TABLE OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... 8 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................... 10 1. HORRY COUNTY TODAY ...................................................................................... 11 POPULATION ................................................................................................................. 11 NATURAL RESOURCES .................................................................................................. 13 OPEN SPACE ................................................................................................................ 14 BOARDS AND AGENCIES ................................................................................................ 17 Horry County Parks and Open Space Board ........................................................... 18 Horry County Parks and Recreation Department .................................................... 19 Coastal Carolina University Waccamaw Watershed Academy & Waccamaw Riverkeeper Program ............................................................................................... 19 LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS ................................................................................... 20 2. HORRY COUNTY TOMORROW ............................................................................. 26 THE CONCEPT OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE .................................................................. 26 THE OPEN SPACE INVENTORY ....................................................................................... 34 The Objectives ......................................................................................................... 34 The GIS Analysis ..................................................................................................... 34 The Horry County Recreation Needs Assessment Study ........................................ 36 The East Coast Greenway ....................................................................................... 37 3. ACTIONS AND STRATEGIES ................................................................................ 39 PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATION .............................................................................. 39 INNOVATIVE AND FLEXIBLE PLANNING CONCEPTS ............................................................ 40 Low Impact Development (LID) ............................................................................... 40 Cluster or Conservation Developments ................................................................... 43 Transfer of Development (TDR) Program ................................................................ 43 Financial Support ..................................................................................................... 44 Regulatory Strategies .............................................................................................. 44 The Action Plan ........................................................................................................ 45 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................. 47 APPENDIX A: THE STATE OF HORRY COUNTY’S NATURAL RESOURCES .......................... 47 Water Resources ..................................................................................................... 47 Coastal Resources ................................................................................................... 56 Wetlands .................................................................................................................. 57 Floodplains............................................................................................................... 60 Land Resources ....................................................................................................... 61 Native Species ......................................................................................................... 64 Air Resources .......................................................................................................... 66 APPENDIX B: COMMUNITY SURVEY AND RESULTS .......................................................... 69 APPENDIX C: PARKS AND OPEN SPACE INVENTORIES BY COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT .... 84 APPENDIX D: HORRY COUNTY PARKS AND OPEN SPACE BOARD ORDINANCE (LATEST VERSION 67-08) .......................................................................................................... 119 Horry County Parks and Open Space Plan 7 APPENDIX E: HORRY COUNTY RECREATION NEEDS ASSESSMENT STUDY (1999-2009) 127 APPENDIX F: THE PRINCIPLES OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE CONCEPT ........................ 129 APPENDIX G: THE COUNTYWIDE NATURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY AND GIS ANALYSIS 132 APPENDIX H: THE EAST COAST GREENWAY ................................................................ 137 APPENDIX K: LOW-IMPACT-DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES ............................................... 139 APPENDIX L: BENEFITS OF CLUSTER OR CONSERVATION DEVELOPMENTS ................... 141 APPENDIX M: MAIN FEATURES OF A TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ............... 143 APPENDIX N: VISION, GOALS, ACTIONS AND STRATEGIES OF THE PARKS AND OPEN SPACE PLAN .......................................................................................................................... 146 Vision ..................................................................................................................... 146 Goals...................................................................................................................... 146 Actions & Strategies ............................................................................................... 147 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 150 Table of Figures Figure 1: Population figures of Horry County and South Carolina (1950 – 2006) ........... 11 Horry County ................................................................................................................... 11 Figure 2: Population projections for Horry County .......................................................... 12 Horry County Population Forecast .................................................................................. 12 Figure 3: Horry County Urban and Rural Population Growth .......................................... 12 Figure 4: Issued building permits and approved rezoning cases within FEMA recognized flood zones in Horry County (1989 – 2006) .................................................................... 22 Figure 5: Documented building activity in FEMA recognized flood zones in Horry County (1998 – 2005) .................................................................................................................. 23 Figure 6: Documented impervious surfaces within FEMA flood zones in Horry County (1998 – 2005) .................................................................................................................. 24 Figure 7: Green Infrastructure Concept Map for Horry County ......................................