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A controversial land-use plan in Georgetown County, South Carolina has done more than rile residents of Waccamaw Neck area — it has sparked a full-fledged movement to create a new town.
What began in mid-2024 as a citizen backlash to Georgetown County’s comprehensive plan has evolved into a serious push to incorporate most of the Waccamaw Neck area into a standalone municipality. The move, supporters say, is about one thing: local control.
The nonprofit Pawleys-Litchfield Municipal Study Group is leading the charge. Since 2024, the group has been steadily working its way through the state’s incorporation process, assembling a feasibility study, outlining municipal services and defining proposed boundaries for a new town.
Their goal? To block the county’s growth plan before it transforms laid-back, low-density Waccamaw Neck into “the next Myrtle Beach.”
As evidence of a trend they hope to stop, the study group released a time lapse video showing the effects of the past forty years of development.
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‘THE ONLY WAY TO BLOCK IT’
The county’s land-use plan does nothing to discourage high-density development across much of Waccamaw Neck. Public opposition to the county’s comprehensive plan helped galvanize the incorporation effort.
“The only way to block this plan is to become our own town,” the study group announced last summer.
“There are two scenarios for the future of the Lower Neck,” study group chairman Andy Hallock added. “One is the county’s vision for our area that will happen if nothing is done. The second is incorporation – which offers the opportunity for smart development controlled by the people who live here.”
Hallock said while development may be inevitable, it can be managed.
Backed by donations from locals, the group hired Columbia-based law firm Pope Flynn to prepare its application and feasibility plan. As of May 2025, that plan is nearly finalized. Once submitted to the South Carolina Secretary of State (SCSOS), the proposal will undergo a review by the Joint Legislative Committee on Municipal Incorporation. If approved, a referendum will be scheduled — leaving the fate of incorporation in the hands of impacted voters.
No date for the vote has been set yet, but organizers are still aiming for a 2025 referendum.
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While the study group works on long-term solutions, a local public interest law firm has been helping community members with land use issues. Keep It Green Advocacy (KIGA) – a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is representing community members pro bono in zoning disputes and land-use litigation. Among KIGA’s recent wins, the organization blocked 105 condo units at the Litchfield Racquet Club and stopped a 182-unit apartment complex off Petigru Drive. They also prevented a self-storage faciltiy from being placed in a historic neighborhood.
KIGA currently has six cases pending in South Carolina courts. The group includes a full-time attorney and a network of legal volunteers, including attorneys Cindy Person and Ross Appel and law professor Patrick Hubbard.
For now, these battles are being fought in courtrooms, but proponents believe incorporation – and local control over land use decisions – could change the landscape.
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THE FINANCES
In their first formal Town Hall presentation, members of the Pawleys-Litchfield Municipal Study Group made a direct appeal to Litchfield residents on Saturday, emphasizing that incorporation does not mean higher taxes. Speaking to attendees at the annual Litchfield Beaches POA meeting, the group addressed one of the most persistent concerns about the initiative: property taxes.
The financial plan for the proposed municipality, introduced by retired investment banker and Willbrook resident Jim Register, relies on existing revenue sources. The only major change in services would be the installation of a Planning and Zoning Department for the administration of local control over land use issues. Other services would still be provided by Georgetown County.
“This is about giving residents of the 29585 ZIP code a choice,” said Hallock, “and that choice is whether to control our own future or continue to let the county decide it for us.”
The completion of the financial plan signals the application process is nearly complete. The group expects to submit it to state authorities within 90 days. First, they must collect the signatures of 15 percent of the electorate – those voters who live within the proposed municipality – on a petition requesting the special election on the question of incorporation.
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LOCAL CONTROL OR HIGHER COSTS?
So far Georgetown County officials seem to be keeping to the sidelines on the decision – determined to let the public decide.
As might be expected, not everyone is on board.
Opponents say the idea of incorporating a new town sounds good — until you add up the costs. They argue that creating a new government means new taxes, new bureaucracy, and potentially fewer freedoms.
Local resident Caroll Agnew has led opposition efforts, warning that the proposal lacks transparency and would saddle residents with growing (as yet undisclosed) tax burdens. She and others have launched a social media campaign under the slogan: “Keep the Waccamaw Neck Free from More Taxes and More Government.”
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Agnew refutes the validity of the budget as proposed – saying it fails to account for some basic requirements. For example, Agnew points to information from the SC Municipal Association indicating that new municipalities required to file a proposal with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for a minimum level of law enforcement services, the entity responsible for providing the service and the cost of the service. Likewise, the proposed entity is required to demonstrate how three other services will be provided by the municipality, whether the services will be contracted out to another governmental entity, and the cost for the services.
Group members point out that South Carolina law does not allow a new municipality to create a property tax.
It was the fear of the price tag that killed a similar incorporation push in the late 1990s, when the Pawleys Island Civic Club warned that new taxes would disproportionately burden retirees and minority homeowners on fixed incomes. The details remain to be seen as only an overview of the finances has been provided to the public so far and that is sure to be the topic of discussion at future town hall meetings as the study group tries to rally support. While there is no deadline for the state to review the application, an election would be held within 90 days of its approval. At that point, it would be up to impacted voters to decide whether the gains will be worth any potential costs.
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PUBLIC INPUT AND THE ROAD AHEAD
While the formal referendum process hasn’t begun, the incorporation effort has already stirred significant community discussion. The study group has hosted email campaigns, fielded hundreds of responses, and even polled residents for potential names for the new town. Public meetings will be scheduled to encourage further discourse.
Once the application is approved, registered voters within the proposed town’s boundaries will decide the issue at the ballot box.
The boundaries of the proposed municipality as certified by the state includes the unincorporated parts of Pawleys Island and Litchfield Beach, stretching from just south of Brookgreen Gardens to the Prince George and DeBordieu area. That would include nearly all of ZIP code 29585 and encompass roughly 30.57 square miles – an area with more than 16,000 residents.
The Waccamaw Neck area is known for its natural beauty, historic charm, and deliberate avoidance of high-rise development. But it has also experienced rapid growth.
Between 1980 and 2020, the Waccamaw Neck’s population grew by more than 300 percent.
Demographically, the area skews older and wealthier than the rest of Georgetown County. The median age is over 60, and the median household income is around $75,500—well above the county average. Poverty rates are low, and homeownership is high.
That unique profile underpins the incorporation debate: supporters believe the community deserves a government that reflects its values and priorities. Opponents fear that even this well-heeled community could buckle under the costs of municipal services – with what makes Waccamaw Neck special being lost forever in the process.
The coming months will decide whether Waccamaw Neck becomes South Carolina’s newest town—or remains a prized, if restless, part of Georgetown County.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Callie Lyons is a relentless investigative journalist, researcher, and author known for exposing hard truths with heart and precision. As a journalist for FITSNews, she dives into high-profile and murky cases—like that of Mica Francis Miller— with fearless resolve and a sharp eye for detail, whether it’s tracking white-collar crime, uncovering religious abuse, or examining the often-bizarre behavior of those who believe they’re above the law.
Callie made waves with her groundbreaking 2007 book Stain-Resistant, Nonstick, Waterproof and Lethal, the first to reveal the dangers of forever chemicals, a story that helped inspire the film Dark Waters and influenced global scientific dialogue. Her work has appeared in numerous documentaries, including Toxic Soup, National Geographic’s Parched: Toxic Waters, and more recently Citizen Sleuth, which examines the complexities of true crime podcasting.
Whether she’s navigating environmental disasters or the darker corners of society, Lyons operates with one guiding belief: “Truth never damages a cause that is just.”
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