March 2009

Dear Residents and Visitors,

On behalf of the city, I extend my thanks to the Horry County Council, the Town of Surfside Beach, the City of North Myrtle Beach, the Harley-Davidson Dealers Association, and even the business owners group called BOOST, for taking steps to support Myrtle Beach's position on the rallies.

Special thanks go to the Horry County Council for approving a reduction in the number and length of vendor permits. The county also is spreading vendors west of the Intracoastal Waterway, so that they are less concentrated in a few areas. The county has approved a special events ordinance that addresses large, unpermitted outdoor events and their effects on the community, and is close to ending temporary adult entertainment permits. The county's foresight will result in some much-needed advance planning by event organizers.

We also thank the Town of Surfside Beach for halting vendor permits for two years in support of Myrtle Beach's position on the back-to-back bike rallies. Thanks, also, to the City of North Myrtle Beach for reviewing its ordinances in response to our request. North Myrtle Beach has said that it believes its ordinances are adequate for the task at hand and that its noise ordinance is, in fact, stricter than ours.

We thank the Harley-Davidson Dealers Association for its cooperation through the years and for moving its 69-year-old rally to another location beginning this year. The Dealers' four-day event was the real Harley spring rally, but that fact was lost amid other promotions and rallies. We wish the Dealers' group well at its new location in North Carolina. The other Harley event was only about 10 years old.

Finally, our thanks go to BOOST - Business Owners Organized to Support Tourism - for acknowledging that the giant rallies had negative effects on the community. During a presentation to County Council, a BOOST representative admitted that the rallies "present unique problems of noise, congestion (and) behavior." BOOST also offered to "develop, fund and implement marketing, PR and communications programs to discourage activities that contribute to congestion, noise and unacceptable behavior."

For the first time, BOOST suggested changing the rally dates to "lessen the intensity and/or duration of the events," as well as either moving the events apart or merging them. BOOST also offered to work with the county to "mitigate the effects of the rallies on the residents, minimize congestion, minimize noise (and) minimize behavioral problems."
We applaud this honest assessment and willingness to help.

Again, I thank these governments and organizations for their actions to rein in and lessen the negative effects from these huge motorcycle-related events. It is a strong statement that these unauthorized and unpermitted rallies really were too large, too loud, too long and too much for our community.

Sincerely,

John Rhodes
Mayor

January 2009

Dear Visitors,

Myrtle Beach is no longer the location for two long-running motorcycle events. After many years, our residents grew weary of three weeks of noise and traffic congestion each May, and they asked City Council to end the events. As a result, the Harley-Davidson Dealers Association Spring Rally and the Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Bikefest will not be held in Myrtle Beach.

This was a difficult decision. Myrtle Beach welcomes visitors year-round, but the giant motorcycle rallies simply grew too large. Our staff, residents and businesses strained to keep up with these huge single-focus events. It may surprise you, but our economy is much healthier with a fully diversified visitor base, instead of a concentration on one or two extremely large events.

Please know that Myrtle Beach is not anti-biker or anti-motorcycle. We want folks to come on the vehicle of their choice and enjoy all of the things Myrtle Beach has to offer. We are ending the motorcycle-related rallies because they grew too big and lasted too long. The huge rallies even kept visitors away from Myrtle Beach, and that's not good.

For everyone's safety and welfare, City Council has added a few new rules and regulations. We believe these new laws will make Myrtle Beach a safer and more friendly destination. For example, with your safety in mind, we now require that all motorcycle riders and passengers wear a helmet and eye protection. We also have a 1:00 to 6:00 a.m. curfew for everyone under 18. These and other rule changes are explained on this web site.

Thank you for understanding. As you know, Myrtle Beach is a great place to visit, and we welcome you at any time. I look forward to your next visit and am confident that you will have a great time in Myrtle Beach!

Sincerely,

John Rhodes
Mayor