Myrtle Beach High-Rises Won't Affect Radar, FAA Says

High-rise construction on the south Myrtle Beach oceanfront will not cause safety problems for a new airport radar system, according to a long-awaited Federal Aviation Administration study released Thursday.

The FAA said most tall developments could probably proceed without blocking radar signals after the communication upgrade early next year.

But lingering plans for a third runway at Myrtle Beach International Airport could clash with future high-rise development and turn existing tall buildings into air hazards, the FAA said.

With a third runway unlikely to ever be built, the FAA study generally relieved months of local speculation that the radar would curb Myrtle Beach growth and hinder a handful of multimillion-dollar projects.

"What it says in a nutshell is the radar is not an issue," FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.

Building heights must still be restricted in limited areas along the approach to the runway, an area south of 21st Avenue South that extends 12 miles out to sea, Bergen said.

All tall building projects near the airport must submit plans to the FAA and each is reviewed to determine if it would create an air-traffic hazard.

"Under normal air-traffic operations at Myrtle Beach airport, the construction of tall buildings along the oceanfront will not impact the coverage area for the ASR-11 radar except for some limited areas," according to the agency.

The radar study shows the community's concern that a new radar would clash with tall development "may have been misguided," said Horry County attorney John Weaver, who is a spokesman for the county-owned airport.

Myrtle Beach City Manager Tom Leath said, "I think it is good news, general speaking."

The findings could ease tension between the city and Horry County over the radar upgrade and end the city's investigation into why the FAA and the county didn't notify the public of the radar sooner, despite years of planning.

The FAA initiated the radar project at the county's airport and county officials expressed concerns of the radar's effects on high-rises as early as 2002.

If the radar's effects are as limited as the study indicates, "my recommendation to council would be we drop this whole thing and move on to something else," Leath said.

In the meantime, outdated plans for a third runway at the airport remain a problem for nearby growth, the study found.

A second and third runway were ruled out by the city and Horry County years ago, but the plans were never removed from the Myrtle Beach airport's master plan, said Horry County Councilman Marion Foxworth.

As long as the plans remain, the FAA must figure the runway into its review of nearby high-rise projects, said Foxworth, whose district covers southern Myrtle Beach.

"The city and the county already agreed to do away with the second and third runway and limit the number of [airport] gates to 18," he said. "Technically speaking, the second and third runway and the 32 gates are still in the master plan, and that's what the FAA has to plan for and make allowances for."

The runway plans have led to five projects, including the Reef at 21st Avenue South, being labeled air hazards because they are too high and too close to the imaginary runway, according to the FAA.

Foxworth, who was part of a teleconference with the FAA Thursday, said the problem could be solved simply. The aviation agency will not require the county to amend its airport master plan but instead just send a letter stating it won't build the thirdrunway, he said.

Once the runway plans are discarded, the FAA will pull building restrictions on the Reef and other high-rise projects.

That will solve some immediate problems, but the city and county will still have to deal with the clash of urban development and airport operations for years to come, Foxworth said.

"It clears up the controversy about the radar," he said. "It doesn't alleviate the problem of having a major airport in a downtown setting."

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