A public hearing will be held at the Town Council’s meeting Tuesday, at 5:30 p.m., on the newly revised Southern Shores Comprehensive CAMA Land Use Plan (LUP), after which the Council will vote on the plan’s adoption and submission to the State for certification. The N.C. Division of Coastal Management must review and approve the LUP before it can take effect.
Also on the Town Council’s agenda are further discussion of Zoning Text Amendment 24-03 concerning newly drafted design standards for the commercial district; an update from Town Manager Cliff Ogburn about the N.C. Dept. of Environmental Quality’s survey of milfoil in the Southern Shores canals, which the Council approved June 4; and a report on affordable housing options in Southern Shores by Planning Board Alternate Member Michael Zehner, which was postponed from the Council’s June 4 meeting because of Mr. Zehner’s unavailability.
Tuesday’s meeting will take place, as usual, in the Kern Pitts Center behind Town Hall.
For the meeting agenda and meeting packet, see: https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/soshoresnc-pubu/MEET-Packet-b9c1afc388cb479a858efdfa994cef50.pdf
To review the proposed Comprehensive CAMA Land Use Plan, see https://www.southernshores-nc.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/planning/page/2509/2-13-24_draft_comprehensive_land_use_plan.pdf
A representative from Stewart, Inc., the Raleigh-based consultant whom the Town hired to manage the update and revision of the current Town LUP, will present the final draft of the new LUP to the Town Council and be available virtually to answer questions, according to the meeting agenda.
The revised LUP represents the culmination of nearly two years of work. To see an overview of the update process, go to https://www.southernshores-nc.gov/planning/page/2022-land-use-plan-update-project
COMMERCIAL DESIGN STANDARDS, ZTA 24-03: ZTA 24-03 was subject to a public hearing on June 4, but no one spoke other than Deputy Town Manager/Planning Director Wes Haskett, who sought to withdraw the proposed ordinance to work on it further. After some discussion the Town Council unanimously voted to table ZTA 24-03 until Tuesday’s meeting. See The Beacon, 6/14/24, for a report.
The latest version of ZTA 24-03 is included in the meeting packet (see link above) on pages 2-8.
One of the stumbling points for the Town Council, in particular, Mayor Pro Tem Matt Neal, was the Planning Board’s inclusion in the proposed ZTA of a “maximum finished area ratio” for all buildings in the general commercial district. The ZTA defines finished area ratio as the “living space” in buildings divided by the “net acreage of a lot.”
According to the Southern Shores Town Code, “living space” includes only the enclosed, conditioned area within a structure that is designed or constructed for “human habitation,” and “net acreage” is the total land area to be developed after the acreage covered by waterways, marshes, or wetlands is subtracted. (Town Code sec. 36-57.)
ZTA 24-03 proposes that the finished area ratio for all buildings in the commercial district not exceed 0.35. According to Mr. Haskett’s staff report on ZTA 24-03 for the Council’s June 4 meeting, the Southern Shores Marketplace has a finished area ratio of 0.20; the Southern Shores Crossing has an FA ratio of 0.14; and TowneBank’s FA ratio is 0.12.
Another common ratio used in urban planning and real estate development, we have learned, is the floor area ratio or “FAR.” It is derived by dividing the total floor area of buildings by the total lot area.
The purpose of both ratios is to determine, and limit, the density of construction in an area.
We have not caught up on the Planning Board meetings to be able to analyze ZTA 24-03 in detail for you, but we will attempt to do so after Tuesday’s meeting. We believe it would facilitate the Council’s discussion of the measure if a member of the Planning Board were present at the meeting to answer questions and to elaborate upon the Board’s intentions.
REPORT ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING: The Beacon previewed Mr. Zehner’s presentation to the Town Council on affordable housing options in Southern Shores on 6/2/24. Please see that article for background. No description of Mr. Zehner’s postponed talk has been provided in the meeting agenda or packet for Tuesday.
During the Planning Board’s May meeting, Mr. Zehner, who is the Board’s First Alternate, proposed holding “educational sessions” in town about affordable housing and encouraging people to “air their concerns” about its availability in Southern Shores.
A planning professional, he said the cheapest house then for sale in Southern Shores was listed at $525,000 and defined affordability as costing “no more than 30 percent of household income.”
In a presentation June 25 to the Dare County Housing Task Force, Tyler Mulligan, a professor of public law and government in the University of North Carolina School of Government, defined affordable as “not cost-burdened” and “cost-burdened” as spending more than 30 percent of one’s gross income on housing.
(Today, according to realtor.com, there are a fixer-upper on Duck Road, built in 1976, listed for sale at $339,000 and a 672-square-foot cottage, built in 1955 and renovated, on South Dogwood Trail, listed for $399,000 and under contract for an undisclosed amount. All other listings exceed $525,000.)
Mr. Zehner suggested in May that a starting point for a conversation among Town residents would be an examination of the problem, specifically addressing whether people believe a problem in affordable housing exists in Southern Shores and “agreeing what the problem is.”
Mr. Zehner expressed an interest in being “proactive,” in taking a leadership role, and in embarking on a study of both the problem of, and strategies for increasing, affordable housing in Southern Shores.
At the suggestion of Planning Board chairman Andy Ward, the Board agreed to have Mr. Zehner speak to the Town Council about the issue.
PUBLIC HEARING ON TCA 24-02: Besides the revised final-draft LUP, the Town Council will hold a public hearing on Town Code Amendment 24-02 at Tuesday’s meeting. TCA 24-02, found at pages 15-19 of the meeting packet, is another in a series of amendments introduced by Town staff to modernize the Town Code, as the Town Council authorized it to do in February.
This time, the focus of changes is on 1) adding definitions for “development” and “developmental approval” to the Town Code that are based on definitions in an N.C. general statute; and 2) amending the Code to allow the submission of a FEMA-approved form, survey, or other documentation prepared by a licensed professional that demonstrates that the natural grade of a parcel exceeds the RFPE [Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation] of eight feet instead of the submission of an under-construction and finished-construction elevation certificate in shaded X and X flood zones.
We imagine these changes will be approved without objection.
FINAL WORDS ON THE LAND USE PLAN
The N.C. Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) requires all 20 coastal counties to have a local LUP in accordance with guidelines established by the Coastal Resources Commission (CRC), which consists of 13 members appointed by various public officials, including the Governor, the Speaker of the N.C. House, and the Senate President Pro Tempore.
(You may know from recent concerns about the status of Jockey’s Ridge that the CRC is responsible for designating areas of environmental concern within the coastal region and for adopting rules and policies for development within those areas.)
Towns are not required to have land use plans, but all of the towns in Dare County do. These plans serve as blueprints for growth and include policies and guidance for such growth-related topics as resources protection, economic development, and storm hazard reduction. The N.C. Division of Coastal Management, which serves as staff to the CRC, is supposed to use local land plans in making its CAMA permit decisions.
An important element in all local land use plans is the municipality’s vision statement. The community vision statement in the updated Southern Shores LUP 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, navigable waterways, 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 qualities by maintaining the existing community appearance and form.”
All ordinances enacted by the Southern Shores Town Council must be in compliance with the Town LUP, especially the vision statement.
Upon approval by the Town Council, the updated LUP will be sent to the Division of Coastal Management for review. The Division must approve the plan before submitting it to the CRC for certification.
The LUP currently in effect in Southern Shores dates to 2008. It was finally certified by the CRC in 2012, after the Town belatedly responded to questions asked by the Division of Coastal Management. Such delay is not expected to occur this time.
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Happy Fourth of July, everyone.
The Town of Southern Shores prohibits fireworks, but you can watch fireworks displays in Avon, Nags Head, Manteo, Kill Devil Hills, Duck, and Corolla.
The Outer Banks Voice published a roundup of firework displays, parades, and other Fourth of July celebrations on the OBX. Check it out at https://www.outerbanksvoice.com/2024/06/22/4th- of-july-celebrations-on-the-outer-banks/
PLEASE NOTE: THE FOURTH OF JULY HOLIDAY WILL HAVE NO IMPACT ON FRIDAY’S COLLECTION OF GARBAGE AND RECYCLING. PUT YOUR CANS OUT AT THE USUAL TIMES.
Have fun and stay safe.
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By Ann G. Sjoerdsma, 6/30/24
The Southern Shores Beacon 