The county Planning Commission approved a special zoning district that will cover six restaurants along the inlet’s waterfront boardwalk. County zoning currently allows one roadside vendor on a parcel, but the restaurants want vendors along the Marsh Walk as an added attraction.
The new “overlay zone” will allow one vendor for every 60 feet of lot width. That’s less than restaurant owners expected, but Boyd Johnson, the county planning director, said he tried to balance the economic benefit from vendors with concerns from area residents about noise and traffic.
“I look at it as an economic development tool, particularly for Murrells Inlet,” Johnson said. “I can’t say 100 percent of the people are happy, but that’s never the case.”
The Marsh Walk district allows vendors on private property, not on the boardwalk itself. The regulations limit how and when they can display their wares.