The Town Planning Board will discuss proposed revisions to the draft Land Use Plan update—including a welcome rewrite of the all-important “Community Vision Statement”—at its 5 p.m. meeting Monday, and the Town Council will meet the next day at 9 a.m. to consider speed bumps on residential streets and other business left over from its June 6 meeting.
Both meetings will be held in the Pitts Center.
For the Planning Board’s June 19 agenda, see https://www.southernshores-nc.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/planning/meeting/3017/6-19-23_pb_meeting_agenda.pdf.
For the Town Council’s June 20 agenda and meeting packet, see https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/soshoresnc-pubu/MEET-Packet-39c6a5e79a0e412fba7c30415091051a.pdf.
Although the Council agenda does not specify that Police Chief David Kole is to present the report on speed bumps and their use in Southern Shores, we assume that he will, as he was prepared to do so on June 6. There is no preview of Chief Kole’s report in the Council’s meeting packet.
There is only one public-comment period on the Town Council’s agenda, and it occurs before any business is discussed.
PLANNING BOARD: DRAFT LAND USE PLAN
Property owners who objected to the new Community Vision Statement presented by consultant, Stewart, in its April 21 draft Land Use Plan, which was discussed at a public workshop on April 26 and open for public comments until May 17, will be pleased to learn that the statement has been substantially revised. It now resembles LUP vision statements of the past that better capture the essence of Southern Shores and is as follows:
“The Town of Southern Shores is a quiet coastal community comprised primarily of low-density single-family homes interspersed with passive and active recreational facilities, maritime forests, and open space. The Town’s identity is intimately tied to its natural resources, history, and residential nature. We strive to protect Southern Shores’ environment, enhance the small commercial district located on the southern edge of town, and preserve the Town’s unique character by maintaining the existing community appearance and form.”
See: https://www.southernshores-nc.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/ planning/meeting/3017/6-14-23_revised_vision_statement.pdf.
For comparison purposes, we print below the current Community Vision Statement, which is in the 2008 Land Use Plan, which was not approved by the State of North Carolina until 2012:
“The Town of Southern Shores (TOSS) is a quiet seaside residential community comprised primarily of small low density neighborhoods consisting of single family homes primarily on large lots (i.e., at least 20,000 sq ft) interspersed with recreational facilities (e.g., marinas, tennis facilities, athletic fields, and parks), beach accesses, walkways and open spaces. These neighborhoods are served by picturesque local roads (rather than wide through streets) along the beach, in the dunes, or in the sound-side maritime forest. The scale and architecture of new development and re-development is compatible with existing homes. The community is served by a small commercial district, located on the southern edge of town, which focuses on convenience shopping and services. The desired plan for the future is to maintain the existing community appearance and form.”
The Planning Board also will be considering revised policies in the draft Land Use Plan prepared by Stewart. You will find these polices, highlighted in red type, in this file:
https://www.southernshores-nc.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/ planning/meeting/3017/6-14-23_revised_lup_policies.pdf.
The public is welcome to comment at the Planning Board meeting about the Community Vision Statement and the revised policies.
REQUIRED MINIMUM LOT WIDTH
According to the public notice of the Planning Board meeting, which was published on the Town website just yesterday, the Board also may consider Zoning Text Amendment 23-05 to amend the applicable sections of the Town Code on lot-width requirements that were just amended, by a Town Council vote of 3-2, on June 6.
The ZTA approved 11 days ago was numbered 23-03 and was represented as a “stopgap” measure by Planning Director/Deputy Town Manager Wes Haskett. A quick fix, if you will, of a perceived ambiguity in the current Code. The “fix” mandates that all lots created after June 6, through recombination or subdivision, are to be rectangular, the expectation being, Mr. Haskett said at the Council meeting, that the Town would revisit the issue later and “figure out how to address irregularly shaped lots,” including pie-shaped lots.
We would like to tell you how ZTA 23-05 differs from ZTA 23-03, and how the width of “irregularly shaped lots” is to be measured, but ZTA 23-05 is not on the Town website for us to peruse.
In our 6/13/23 writeup of the Council’s June 6 meeting, we briefly gave an overview of how the “stopgap” lot-width changes in ZTA 23-03 alter the current regulations in the Town Code (we previously delved into ZTA 23-03 on 4/20/23 and 6/4/23), but stopped short of a full examination, concluding:
“We will resume our analysis of ZTA 23-03 and the Council’s discussion and vote in a separate blog post. We believe it is both instructive and illuminating of the Town’s legislative process, as well as the process by which zoning becomes ‘gummy,’ a term used by [Mayor Pro Tem Matt] Neal, who argued for a ‘cleaner’ bill [in voting against ZTA 23-03].”
Now that we know there is a proposed ZTA to amend what the Town Council just approved, we will hold off on that “separate blog post.”
TOWN COUNCIL: ANOTHER CLOSED SESSION
As has become a common practice at its meetings, the Town Council will hold a closed session with a Town Attorney—the Town is represented by the firm of Hornthal, Riley, Ellis & Maland—after the June 20 workshop business agenda is finished. When members return from that session, according to the agenda, they will consider the renewal of Town Manager Cliff Ogburn’s contract—an item they presumably will discuss in the closed session.
Unstated in the agenda is that it is time for Mr. Ogburn’s annual evaluation, which is permitted by N.C. statute to be performed in a closed session.
Mr. Ogburn became Southern Shores town manager in 2020 during the Covid-19 shutdown.
Judging from the statutory reasons cited for having Tuesday’s closed session, however, the Council will be talking about more than just Mr. Ogburn’s contract. (The “permitted purposes” for public bodies to hold closed sessions are enumerated in N.C. Gen. Stat. section 143.318-11.)
The agenda cites permitted purpose 143-318.11(a)(3), the attorney-client privilege purpose, which is to be used when the Council considers and gives “instructions to an attorney concerning the handling or settlement of a claim, judicial action, mediation, arbitration, or administrative procedure.” The Council may not avail itself of this purpose simply to discuss general policy matters with an attorney.
Ann G. Sjoerdsma, 6/17/23
The Southern Shores Beacon 