Myrtle Beach City Council votes on workforce housing plan; works to bring workers within city limits

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - The Myrtle Beach City Council voted in favor of two resolutions on Tuesday that they hope will help solve the lack of housing options for city employees.

“Our hotels, our mom-and-pop businesses, all the way up to corporate America that is in Myrtle Beach needs help so that we have a more active workforce in our community,” said councilmember John Krajc.

The city enlisted the help of Habitat for Humanity of Horry County in 2021, which conducted an assessment of affordability problems in the city, as well as offered suggestions to increase affordability going forward.

RELATED COVERAGE:

• Report: Less than 15% of Myrtle Beach’s workforce actually lives in city due to unaffordable housing
• ‘It’s very difficult for folks:’ Myrtle Beach leaders discuss workforce housing for city employees
• Myrtle Beach City Council’s discussion on lack of workforce housing focuses on cost

“This is wonderful for the workforce if they can find a place to actually live and work in the same area,” said Jason Greene, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Horry County.

Krajc, who fully backs the workforce housing plan, said the studies done will allow city officials to make decisions based on data.

“Of course, with workforce housing, there will be some subjectivity, but we have to have an objective baseline,” he said.

The approval of the resolutions on Tuesday means the city will now allow Habitat for Humanity to manage its strategic plan, which was proposed back in July.

“The city of Myrtle Beach’s desire to help with attainability within the city limits is certainly in line with our corporate mission and what we are trying to accomplish here in Horry County,” said Greene.

Krajc also emphasized the safety factor.

“Imagine after big emergencies like hurricanes, having folks from streets department, public works, first responders in the city limits versus in Conway, Galivants Ferry, Aynor... 30, 40 minutes away, sometimes inaccessible to the city,” he said. “That’s a massive difference for response times.”

Krajc said he is excited to see the progress made this year.

“If we are working together as a team collectively and collaboratively, there is no reason we can’t see some really big steps happen in the next six months to 12 months,” he said.

A study revealed in 2021 that out of 41,000 full-time employees in Myrtle Beach, only 6,000 employees work and live within the city limits.

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