🚁📦 Tuesday is decision day in North Myrtle Beach for Amazon’s delivery drones.
The Planning Commission votes Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 5 PM on Amazon’s request to add a drone launch pad behind its Water Tower Road warehouse — a 13,627-square-foot fenced paddock with six launch pads, a divert pad, and an 8-foot barrier wall.
Quick recap of how we got here: the commission pulled an approval motion back on Sept. 22, held a public workshop Oct. 7, and postponed the vote to Tuesday. At the workshop, Amazon told the room the drones never top 68 decibels — but the FAA’s own noise filing for the same aircraft puts takeoff at about 82 decibels 20 feet from the pad. Residents so far have been almost overwhelmingly opposed, citing noise, safety, property values, and wildlife.
Two things that surprise people: the appointed Planning Commission decides this, not City Council — zoning staff classed the drone pad as accessory to the warehouse. And the city vote authorizes zero flights; the FAA separately controls whether any drone actually takes off. Tuesday the commission can approve, approve with conditions, deny, or kick it down the road again.
Public comment is allowed when the item is opened. City Hall, 1018 2nd Ave South. There’s also a morning workshop at 9:15 AM open for observation.
Sources: City of North Myrtle Beach; DroneXL.
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