More helicopter tour businesses want to fly over the Grand Strand, but Horry County leaders are trying to limit where those companies can operate.
After years of fielding complaints from residents about the din of passing helicopters, County Council’s Infrastructure and Regulation Committee on Thursday reviewed a proposal that would require all helicopter tour companies to be based at public airports.
The policy wouldn’t affect existing businesses or a few pieces of amusement property that fall under a land development agreement.
Planning Director Janet Carter said interest in tour businesses continues to mount, with new companies eyeing potential sites and current ones looking to expand. Two businesses have already approached Grand Strand Airport in North Myrtle Beach about leasing a hangar there.
“These are not going away,” Carter said. “And if the industry has its way, they will be expanding and more coming to the county.”
Local officials have debated the benefits of aerial sightseeing excursions for years, but the discussion intensified in 2012 when Helicopter Adventures opened across from Broadway at the Beach.
Residents in nearby Plantation Point vociferously objected to the helicopters’ noise. They also voiced concerns about the safety of the tours passing over neighborhoods.
A Plantation Point resident took his complaints to court but wasn’t successful. Earlier this year, the S.C. Court of Appeals ruled that Helicopter Adventures could continue offering aerial trips.
After the initial uproar in 2012, council members considered tightening the county’s restrictions on helicopter tours. They never did.
But the possibility of having more of these businesses has revived talks about regulations. County officials maintain the policy would prevent a repeat of what they went through with Plantation Point.
“It needs to be expedited and looked at quickly,” said County Councilman Bill Howard, whose district includes Plantation Point. “It’s something we need. It should have been done a long time ago.”
Carter cautioned council members to follow the same procedure that they would go through with any other policy change, saying speeding up the process could invite a lawsuit.
“Because there is such great interest in it,” she said, “you don’t want to set up anything that could subject your ordinance to challenge.”
The proposal will go before county planning commission next, then back to the committee and on to the full council for final approval.
Source: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com
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