Horry County Council members discussed beefing up regulations for large outdoor events to address some residents’ concerns over the area’s motorcycle rallies on Thursday, but also decided to make it cheaper for nonprofit groups to get the required event permits.
Under the new guidelines, businesses putting on outdoor events with more than 500 people in unincorporated Horry County would need to pay a $250 application fee and $100 per day of the event to obtain a special-event permit. Fees would be waived for nonprofit groups. The county now charges a $25 application fee.
Some residents hoped that better regulation over outdoor events would help resolve complaints about noise, traffic and rude behavior during the Harley-Davidson spring rally and the Atlantic Beach Bikefest, which are both held in May and attract about 250,000 people each to the area.
The regulations have already received the first of three required votes from the council. Thursday’s meeting was a subcommittee of the council where tweaks, such as the nonprofit exemption, were made to the rules.
The regulations would apply to all groups throughout the year, not just during bike rallies. The current definition of a special event is vague, and it is not always clear which events need a permit. Public Safety Director Paul Whitten said new regulations should clarify that.
The discussion over outdoor events is the county’s latest attempt to address residents’ concerns over the motorcycle rallies. The council is also thinking about restricting where vendors can be located, and Myrtle Beach passed a set of ordinances last year aimed at eliminating the rallies.
Parades, and sporting events with more than 4,000 attendees that need temporary structures, will also need a special-event permit under the new regulations. Permits would be valid for five days.
Even if attendance is below 500, outdoor events that require an excessive police presence or allow drinking or wet T-shirt contests, pudding wrestling or burn-out pits would also need a permit.
County officials said their objective is not to discourage outdoor events but to make sure they are policed properly and are safe for the community. Deputy County Attorney Arrigo Carotti said he believes the new rules would withstand a court challenge because it treats everybody the same.
“Our intent here is not to bog people down in paperwork and aggravate them in what they have to do and putting these nitpicky requirements on them,” said Councilman Bob Grabowski, chairman of the public safety committee, which met Thursday.
Possible penalties for unpermitted events include a small fine, paying for police officers that were required to manage the event and losing a business license, Carotti said. Unpermitted events could be shut down.
Previously, special-event permits were approved by the council, but the new regulations would make Whitten, as public safety director, the person responsible for the decision. It would be based on an applicant’s plans for safety, lighting and other factors, and an appeal can be made to the county administrator.
