Beach smoking banned in NMB

By Ruben Lowman

During its regular meeting on Monday, May 4, the North Myrtle Beach City Council gave final approval to an ordinance banning smoking and e-cigarettes on all public beaches.

The new regulations, which take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, amend the city’s Health and Sanitation code to include the shoreline and all public access points, such as walkovers and dune crossovers.

City officials stated the expansion of the “public beach” definition is intended to prevent smoking from congregating at entrances and to reduce the amount of cigarette-related litter impacting the environment and public safety.

Councilmembers noted that the smoking ban is primarily an effort to mitigate litter, citing the risks cigarette butts pose to marine life and small children.

During the meeting, the council also discussed the possibility of establishing designated smoking areas in parking lots located away from the sand to accommodate visitors.

In a separate move, the council approved the first reading of an ordinance to relocate the Chick-fil-A restaurant within Gator Hole Plaza in the Ocean Drive section.

The proposal involves moving the business to the site of the former T.G.I. Fridays to address chronic traffic congestion and capacity issues.

The new location will triple the available parking and is designed to handle high drive-thru volumes to prevent vehicle overflow onto Highway 17.

Store operators and city planners indicated the move is necessary to improve traffic flow and safety in the busy commercial corridor.

Simultaneously, the city has moved forward with a dune restoration project in the north Cherry Grove area near Inlet Point.

This project utilizes sand salvaged from the 2025 canal dredging project, which was filtered and prepared over an eight-month period.

The work aims to reinforce a section of the beach north of 60th Avenue that was excluded from a previous $72 million federal renourishment project.