COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS REPORT Proposed Carolina Bays Parkway Extension, from SC-9 in Horry County, SC to US 17 Shallotte Bypass in Brunswick County, NC NCDOT Project No. 44604; SCDOT Project No. P029554 Brunswick County, NC & Horry County, SC January, 2018 Prepared for: Prepared by: CALYX Engineers and Consultants 6750 Tryon Road | Cary, NC 27518 COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS REPORT NCDOT Project No. 44604; SCDOT Project No. P029554 Proposed Carolina Bays Parkway Extension, From SC-9 in Horry County, SC to US 17 Shallotte Bypass in Brunswick County, NC Submitted by: CALYX Engineers and Consultants | Date: January, 2018 Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ i Notable Characteristics .......................................................................................................................... i Potential Project Impacts ..................................................................................................................... iii Findings & Recommendations .............................................................................................................. iv 1. Project Overview ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Existing Roadway & Network Conditions .................................................................................. 3 1.3 Proposed Modifications ............................................................................................................ 5 1.4 Regional Community Context ................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Community Study Areas ............................................................................................................ 8 2. Community Characteristics, Impacts & Recommendations .................................................. 10 2.1 Recreational Resources & Activity .......................................................................................... 10 2.2 Section 6(f) Land and Water Conservation Fund Resources ................................................... 13 2.3 Other Regulatory Land Applications ....................................................................................... 13 2.4 Voluntary & Enhanced Voluntary Agricultural Districts .......................................................... 14 2.5 Agricultural Resources & Activity ............................................................................................ 14 2.6 Bicycle, Pedestrian, Greenway & Active Transportation ........................................................ 16 2.7 Transit & Other Multi-Modal Resources/Activity ................................................................... 19 2.8 Local Area Plans & Goals ......................................................................................................... 20 2.9 Local Area Development Activity ............................................................................................ 35 2.10 Existing Access: Driveways & Cross Streets ............................................................................ 38 2.11 Business & Economic Resources ............................................................................................. 39 2.12 Emergency Management Resources....................................................................................... 44 2.13 Schools Transportation ........................................................................................................... 46 2.14 Community Resources ............................................................................................................ 47 2.15 Community Cohesion .............................................................................................................. 54 2.16 Community Health & Safety.................................................................................................... 55 2.17 Area/Community Concerns ..................................................................................................... 55 2.18 Recurring Effects ..................................................................................................................... 57 2.19 Other Impacts ......................................................................................................................... 57 2.20 Environmental Justice (EJ) and Title VI Populations ............................................................... 58 2.21 Limited English Proficiency (LEP) or Language Assistance (LA) Populations........................... 60 2.22 Special Populations ................................................................................................................. 61 3. Additional Community Characteristics ..................................................................................... 61 3.1 Demographic Characteristics & Population Trends ................................................................ 61 3.2 Nearby STIP Projects ............................................................................................................... 64 Sources................................................................................................................................................... 66 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................ 70 Appendix A: Figures Appendix B: Demographic Data Tables Appendix C: Photographs Appendix D: Local Government Interviews Appendix E: Mapping from Local Land Use Plans Appendix F: Known Plans for Development Appendix G: Project Controversy & Public Involvement Documentation Carolina Bays Parkway Extension | Community Characteristics Report (CCR) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PLANNER, FIRM: Martha Hodge, AICP, CALYX Engineers and Consultants CS PROJECT REVIEWER: Herman Huang, Ph.D, AICP NCDOT PROJECT MANAGER: Kim Gillespie, PE SCDOT PROJECT MANAGER: Leah Quattlebaum, PE NCDOT DIVISION: 3 SCDOT DISTRICT: 5 NCDOT WBS: 44604 SCDOT PROJECT NO.: P029554 DOCUMENT TYPE: Federal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) EXISTING CONTROL OF ACCESS: Combination - No Control in Horry County, Partial Control in Brunswick County PROPOSED CONTROL OF ACCESS: Full Control EXISTING MEDIAN: Yes except for 1 mile through Little River (Nelson Road to Pinehurst Circle) PROPOSED MEDIAN: Yes EXISTING NO. OF LANES: 4-5 PROPOSED NO. OF LANES: Multi-lane PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Proposed multi-lane access-controlled expressway, part on new location, from the existing Carolina Bays Parkway (SC-31) terminus at SC-9 in Horry County, SC to US 17 (Shallotte Bypass) in Brunswick County, NC. Notable Characteristics ⪧ Potential Section 4(f) public recreational resources in the DCIA include: (1) Waccamaw River Heritage Preserve in Horry County; (2) North Strand Recreation Center, located on Highway 57 just south of SC-9; (3) Vereen Memorial Gardens, a community park and cemetery located on the south side of US 17 in Little River; (4) Calabash Town Park on Persimmon Road SW next to the Town of Calabash Municipal offices; (5) Ocean Isle Beach Park, located on the north side of Old Georgetown Road in Ocean Isle Beach; (6) Shallotte District Park, located on the north side of Main Street (US 17 Business) in Shallotte. ⪧ Section 6(f) resources in the DCIA include: (1) a small area adjacent to McMilly Swamp at the end of Buttercup Lane near Shallotte that does not follow property lines may be protected under Section 6(f), and (2) Ocean Isle Beach Park. ⪧ Multiple properties are currently held under private conservation easements in the DCIA: (1) River Hills Golf Course; (2) a large Ducks Unlimited easement adjacent to the Waccamaw River in Brunswick County; and (3) a North American Land Trust (NALT) easement on the south side of US 17 in Brunswick County, just east of Calabash. ⪧ There is a notable presence of agricultural resources throughout the DCIA, including the majority of land on the north side of US 17 in Brunswick County as well as a considerable amount of land located north of Highway 111 in Horry County. Known agricultural resources in the DCIA include a wide range of large and small scale crop farms, at least one permitted animal operation (swine) on January, 2018 Executive S ummary | i Carolina Bays Parkway Extension | Community Characteristics Report (CCR) Old Shallotte Road in Brunswick County, numerous tracts that are actively managed for timber production, several commercial plant nurseries and growing operations, a Century Farm (Indigo Farms), a Bicentennial Farm (Holden Brothers Farm Market), and several agritourism operations. ⪧ Existing sidewalks in the DCIA are limited to a small number of locations that support pedestrian use, including a section of US 17 through Little River, a portion of Mineola Avenue SW and the Little River Waterfront area, and a portion of NC 179 (Beach Drive) through Calabash. Some of the residential subdivisions in the DCIA also have internal sidewalk networks. There are no known local plans or recommendations for future sidewalk sections in the DCIA. ⪧ There is no dedicated bicycle access along existing facilities in the DCIA; however, there are state designated bicycle routes and a number of facilities documented as being used by local cyclists throughout the DCIA. State designated routes include: SC-9, Highway 57, Highway 111, SC-179, and NC 179