CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW) — Conway City Council deferred a 1,700 acre proposed property during a first reading in Monday’s meeting.

The proposed development would bring about 8,000 new residents to Conway.

The room was packed with residents who were against the project. Five people spoke during the first public hearing.

“We are in a disastrous state, you have to agree with that,” one resident said. “There’s just an overwhelming amount of people coming into our area.”

Council voted to defer it to let developers address resident’s concerns. Many residents from organizations like Horry County Rising and Conway Persons for Responsible Building were there, with some concerns being flood risk and population growth.

Councilman William Goldfinch said during the meeting that they wanted to do it right. He said that means giving the developers more time to address residents’ concerns.

“6,400 cars added to 501, 701, 544, local streets, and two bridges badly needing repairs,” a member of the Conway Persons for Responsible Building said.

One of the people who spoke during public comment was April O’Leary, the founder of Horry County Rising. She said the development is a flood risk, but that it could be fixed if planned right.

“Using new development to fix our flooded roads and provide better connectivity during major floods provides a great public benefit and could really help push this project over the finish line,” O’Leary said.

One resident said accommodations like a police and fire station need to be built to meet the population growth.

A representative with the developer said that they’re aware of the various concerns and are willing to address them. He said the project plans to pay as it goes so it doesn’t burden the city with costs.

“Always with development comes growth, comes traffic, comes concerns,” he said. “The good news is, with a larger project, you have enough resources available for that project to accommodate some of those changes.”

Council did not say when the proposed development will be on the agenda again.

Adrianna Lawrence is a multimedia journalist at News13. Adrianna is originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and joined the News13 team in June 2023 after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2023. Keep up with Adrianna on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also read more of her work, here.