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A request to rezone 3.8 acres along Main Street in Loris from R-1.4 residential to C-2 general commercial was met with opposition from a pair of neighboring property owners, but received a favorable recommendation from the Loris Planning Commission on Thursday, June 26.

The landowner, Dr. Wagdi Mitry of Myrtle Beach, said he is hoping to change the zoning in order to build 鈥渕ultiple townhouses and some stores鈥� on the property.

When asked after the meeting, he said was considering three duplexes for a total of six units, and commercial uses that could include an urgent-care health facility.

Mitry, who graduated from medical school in 1973, helped pioneer the urgent-care concept while working as a doctor in New York City in the early 1980s.

Phyllis Brogdon, who owns the property across the street from the proposed rezone and has lived there for 50 years, expressed concern about flooding if the request is approved.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 need any more development there. We've got enough water coming in on us now,鈥� she said.

鈥淧eople on Forest Drive can鈥檛 take it any more,鈥� Brogdon continued, referring to a downstream site from the proposed development that has flooded repeatedly. 鈥淓veryone in that neighborhood is against it.鈥�

Olga Ayala, who lives next door to the property along the southern section of Main Street, said the development will affect everything from traffic and crime to taxes and property values, as well as her view.

鈥淚鈥檓 right across from it also,鈥� said Ayala, after following Brogdon at the lectern.

鈥淭he traffic is just horrible,鈥� Ayala said adding that she doesn鈥檛 want to see the tract cleared to allow for development. I 鈥渏ust love the scenery; all of those trees. The nature; the animals.鈥�

City Planning and Zoning Director Meredith Holmes said that both residential and commercial development are permitted in the C-2 general business commercial zone. She said Mitry鈥檚 proposed zoning change also adheres to the city鈥檚 long-range plan, which says all sections along Main Street (Highway 9 Business) should be commercially focused.

The positive recommendation was approved by a 5-0 vote, with planning commission members Linda Morrison, Christopher Spivey, Eric Milan, Chad Bennett and John Adkins voting to approve. Members Joseph Flesch and Ruth Ann Jones did not attend the meeting.

The zoning change now moves to the agenda of the city council, which next meets on July 7 at 6 p.m. in the council chambers in city hall at 4101 Walnut St.

Two votes to approve are required for the zoning change to take effect, Holmes told the commission.

Loris is also in line for more single-family homes, after the planning commission voted 5-0 to approve a major subdivision.

Finley Woods will be located west of Suggs Street in the area behind the IGA grocery store, and will consist of 36 new homes on 6,000-square-foot lots, according David Schwerd, the chief operating officer of the developer, Diamond Shores LLC of Conway.

The property will be accessed by Suggs Street. The development will have a home owners association, and will not be gated.

Amenities will include sidewalks, a playground and a playing field.

A privacy fence and a landscaped buffer consisting of shrubs and trees will shield the property along Suggs Street.

Schwerd said his company is aware of stormwater drainage issues in the Loris area, so 鈥渨e made the stormwater ponds as big as we can to accommodate.鈥� The ponds cover 15% of the property.

An adjoining tract of land will be developed with 10 custom-built, single-family homes that will not be part of the 36-unit HOA development. The total area being developed is about 11.5 acres.

Schwerd noted that the South Carolina Department of Transportation is preparing to pave Suggs Street, and that the existing power line serving the property will be relocated and buried.

The land is currently zone C-2 commercial, the city鈥檚 general business zoning designation. Residential developments are allowed in commercial zones, Holmes said.

The planning commission also voted to support time extensions for several other development projects that are seeking permits to proceed.

The Loris Heights major subdivision proposes 44 new homes near the Loris Motel off Highway 701, while the second phase of Meadowalk subdivision by builder D.R. Horton off Highway 701 will see the completion of the 92-unit single-family-home development.