Monday, Feb. 09, 2009

Myrtle Beach to consider stricter thong law

MYRTLE BEACH -- Myrtle Beach City Council will vote Tuesday on the first draft of a change to the indecent-exposure ordinance, known locally as The Thong Ordinance, that will give police officers the choice of whether to issue a warning or a ticket or even make an arrest on a first offense.

In the past, officers were obliged to issue warnings before someone could be ticketed.

"There are beaches elsewhere in the world that allow more skin than we do," city spokesman Mark Kruea said. Topsail Beach in North Carolina, for example, allows toplessness, as do some beaches elsewhere in the country and in Europe.

But that's not Myrtle Beach, he said.

Though bare behinds, semi-bare breasts and other borderline public nudity is fairly common during the May motorcycle rallies, Kruea said this is a year-round ordinance and is not aimed specifically at the motorcycle events.

"We certainly have some issues with unclothedness during the rallies," he said. "But it crops up from time to time on the beach in the summertime, too."

While only Myrtle Beach has a specific no-thong rule - now 16 years old - other cities have their own public decency rules.

Council members will also discuss the layout plan for the Myrtle Beach International Airport.

The airport is within city limits but is owned and operated by Horry County, and the county has been planning to expand the main commercial terminal and extend Harrelson Boulevard to U.S. 17 Business.

Though airport planners have approached the Myrtle Beach council for approval before, some council members were concerned because language sealing the thoroughfare's extension was not included.

Planners assured council members they would make that change.

The city's approval is not required, but because the city and county have a contentious history where the airport is concerned, county leaders want to present a united front as they request federal funding for the expansion plans.

Councilman Wayne Gray, one of those to express concerns about the plan's language at the last city council meeting, said Friday he hadn't read the revised proposed resolution yet, and hasn't had the text change confirmed by city staff members, but assumes the changes will be made because airport representatives assured the council they would.

"Unless the language regarding the construction, expansion and completion of Harrelson is included to our satisfaction, I would recommend we not adopt that resolution," Gray said.

-- The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News

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