North Myrtle Beach Planning Commission Unanimously Rejects Amazon Drone Launch Pad

North Myrtle Beach, S.C. · October 26, 2026 · By Thomas Beach Vacations

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Amazon’s plan to launch delivery drones from its North Myrtle Beach warehouse is grounded. The city’s Planning Commission voted unanimously on Tuesday, October 20, to reject the minor planned-development amendment that would have allowed a fenced drone launch area behind the company’s same-day delivery facility at 8651 Water Tower Road, according to MyHorryNews and The Post and Courier.

The 6-0 vote came a day after a Monday City Council meeting at which residents lined up to speak against the proposal and Mayor J. Baldwin urged them to carry their concerns to the commission the following evening, MyHorryNews reported. By the time the item came up Tuesday, commission member Callie Jean Wise told the room she was done talking about drones, and the vote followed shortly after.

The decision ends, at least for now, a proposal that had been working through City Hall since August and that drew more public attention than almost any land-use question in recent memory. Our earlier report covered the original application and the September postponement; this is how it ended.

What Amazon Asked For

The request, filed as Minor PDD Amendment Z-26-22, called for a fenced paddock of roughly 13,600 square feet on existing pavement behind the warehouse in the Palmetto Coast Industrial Park, with six launch-and-landing pads and a divert pad, according to drawings reviewed by DroneXL. The paddock would have removed about two dozen parking spaces from the service lot. Because the city’s zoning administrator classified drone operations as an accessory use to the approved warehouse, the amendment could be decided by the Planning Commission without a vote of City Council.

At an October 7 public workshop at City Hall, an Amazon representative said the company planned to operate 12 drones from the site, flying between 100 and 400 feet and dropping packages from about 13 feet into an 18-foot clear circle in the yards of single-family customers who opted in, DroneXL reported. Amazon said the aircraft would not exceed 68 decibels, though the company did not specify the distance at which that figure was measured. Asked whether residents could stop drones from flying over their homes, the representative said that question belonged to the Federal Aviation Administration rather than to Amazon.

Why the Proposal Failed

Noise and safety dominated the public comment, but the commission’s own reasoning reached further. Chairman Silvio Cutuli said the question extended beyond a single parcel and could shape other parts of the city and other businesses, and that it would not be fair to act before the technical details had been fully reviewed and discussed, The Post and Courier reported. Resident Dean McKenna argued that neighborhoods are not simply airspace between a warehouse and a customer and that the burden should fall on the applicant to show the operation fits the community.

Councilwoman Melissa Wober, who opposed the plan, told the newspaper she had contacted the FAA and U.S. Rep. Russell Fry to press for meaningful resident input, and said quality of life should weigh as heavily as corporate convenience. Councilman Hank Thomas called the matter a dead issue, telling MyHorryNews that the community largely opposes drones and predicting that approval would invite similar requests from other large retailers.

Opposition had built steadily over the month. Hundreds of residents contacted city leaders by email, signed petitions and organized in online forums, raising concerns about property values, public safety, noise and wildlife, according to The Post and Courier. Part of the frustration stemmed from the split in authority: the city controls where a drone may take off and land, but once airborne the aircraft fall under FAA jurisdiction, and the FAA’s operating framework for the site would have allowed up to 1,000 flights a day within a seven-and-a-half-mile radius.

What Comes Next

Mayor Baldwin told MyHorryNews that the request is dead for now but could return to City Council later. Council has the authority to take up the matter, though the newspaper reported that outcome is considered unlikely given the breadth of opposition. Amazon has not issued a public statement on the vote, and as of mid-October the FAA’s public index showed no South Carolina filing for Prime Air operations, according to DroneXL.

The longer-term picture is shifting in the city’s favor. Act 150, the Drone Regulation and Public Safety Act signed by Governor McMaster in May, takes effect January 1, 2027, and gives municipalities explicit authority to set reasonable restrictions on drone takeoff and landing sites. North Myrtle Beach currently has no commercial drone ordinance of its own, and the Water Tower Road debate has given council a clear picture of what residents would want in one.

Amazon’s same-day facility, a 165,000-square-foot building that opened in November 2024, continues to operate normally, and the company’s truck-based delivery to the north end of Horry County is unaffected.

What It Means for Visitors

For guests on the beach, the vote keeps things exactly as they are. No delivery drones will be flying over Cherry Grove, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach or Windy Hill, and the skies over the strand remain the province of pelicans, kites and the occasional banner plane. The sentiment expressed in the council chambers over the past month says something about the town itself: this is a community that guards its quiet, and that quiet is a large part of what brings families back to its oceanfront homes and oceanfront condos year after year.

We will continue following any council action on the matter and the city’s approach to drone rules once Act 150 takes effect. For more local coverage, visit our North Myrtle Beach news page, and for trip planning, start with our guide to things to do in Myrtle Beach.

Sources: MyHorryNews (Oct. 23, 2026); The Post and Courier (Oct. 20, 2026); WBTW News 13 (Oct. 20, 2026); DroneXL drone delivery tracker for North Myrtle Beach (October 2026); WMBF News (Nov. 2024). Featured image is an illustration. Council actions are subject to change; confirm with the City of North Myrtle Beach.