NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Amazon will not get a drone launch pad at its North Myrtle Beach warehouse for now. The city Planning Commission voted 6-0 on Tuesday, Oct. 20, to turn down the land-use change the company needed.
The company had asked for a small change to the rules of the Parkway Group development district that covers the site. Amazon wanted to fence off part of the paved lot at its 8651 Water Tower Road warehouse, in the Palmetto Coast Industrial Park, as a spot for drones to take off. Amazon opened that same-day delivery center in November 2024, and the drone service would have been the company’s first in South Carolina.
The item had been pushed back twice and talked over at an Oct. 7 workshop. Hundreds of residents used emails, petitions and online forums to raise worries about noise, safety, wildlife and home values. The city has no ordinance on commercial drone use, and the commission chairman said the wider drone question deserves its own review.
Under rules set by the FAA, the site could have handled as many as 1,000 flights a day within roughly 7.5 miles. City officials point out that flight routes and altitude fall to the FAA, and that a denial does not ban drones citywide. The launch area would have been about 1,400 feet from the closest homes, with Highway 31 in between.
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