The Southern Shores Town Council made short work on Tuesday night of a provision in a tree-removal/lot disturbance permit ordinance that the Planning Board had resurrected, after the Town removed it, and sent back to the Town Council for “reexamination.”
So swift was the Town Council’s dismissal of key language supported unanimously by the Planning Board in proposed Zoning Text Amendment 24-05 that we were left wondering if the principals on each board ever speak to each other, much less consult one another.
Thirty seconds after the public hearing on ZTA 24-05 ended, Mayor Pro Tem Matt Neal made a motion to approve the zoning amendment as written except “omitting the text change on page three, line 1200.”
Mr. Neal did not even speak aloud the words that the Planning Board had inserted and overwhelmingly recommended for approval at its Nov. 18 meeting. He used a citation, instead!
When Mayor Elizabeth Morey summarized the Mayor Pro Tem’s motion, she, too, skipped over the Planning Board’s recommended change, referring to it only as omitted text.
ZTA 24-05 ESTABLISHES EXCEPTIONS FOR GETTING PERMIT TO REMOVE TREES IN SETBACKS ON VACANT COMMERCIAL PROPERTY.
The Beacon explained ZTA 24-05 in detail on 11/17/24, and we will be brief here in reminding you what it is about.
In April, the Town Council adopted ZTA 24-02, which was a predecessor bill to ZTA 24-05. That legislation established that an owner of unimproved commercial property must obtain a lot disturbance/stormwater management (“LDSM”) permit before removing trees that are greater than 6 inches in diameter, measured at 4.5 feet above the ground, from within the front, side, and rear yard setbacks on any lot.
ZTA 24-02 amended Town Code section 36-171, which pertains to lot disturbance and stormwater management and sets forth the requirements for an LDSM permit—the obtaining of which is an early step in the building process.
Neither ZTA 24-02 nor ZTA 24-05 was a tree-preservation ordinance: Both dealt with vegetative buffers in lot setback areas, and both only required an LDSM permit before removing large-growth trees; neither prohibited their removal.
The Planning Board sought to extend this permit requirement to owners of undeveloped property in all zoning districts in Southern Shores, even though the Town Council passed ZTA 24-02 because it applied only to the general commercial district. Those three words, all zoning districts, were the “omitted text” that the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem would not say.
ZTA 24-05 also included exceptions to the LDSM permit requirement for proposed tree removal in setback areas of commercial property when an “emergency” exists.
Again, we refer you to our earlier explanation on 11/17/14 and to the meeting preview we published on 11/30/24. Mr. Neal came up with the idea of legislating exceptions to the permit requirement.
See the text of ZTA 24-05 at https://www.southernshores-nc.gov/media/11196.
The Town Council did exactly what The Beacon expected it to do with ZTA 24-05, albeit more furtively and summarily than we think a municipal government should act, so why did the Planning Board expect a different result? Or did it? Was this just a power play? Or was something else afoot? A lack of communication? Of understanding?
The Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem both said that in striking the words that they would not speak– “all zoning districts”—from the ZTA, they were restoring what “we originally intended,” which had to do with vegetative buffer requirements in the commercial district.
Mr. Neal’s motion passed, 4-0—Councilman Robert Neilsen was absent—within a minute after it was made and seconded. The emergency exceptions to the permit requirement were in; the extension of the permit requirement to all zoning districts was out.
Give-and-Take Between the Town Council and Planning Board
There’s something rotten in the state of Denmark between the Town Council and the Town Planning Board, which spent considerable time at its Nov. 18 meeting deliberating over the new provisions of ZTA 24-05—an effort that was not recognized by the Council on Tuesday. We note that this is not the first time the Town Council has ignored the Planning Board’s judgment, without offering an on-the-record explanation.
It used to be customary for the Planning Board chairperson to attend Town Council meetings and to explain the Board’s decision-making on Zoning Text Amendments. Longtime Chairperson Sam Williams was a fixture at Town Council meetings, and his successor, Glenn Wyder, was carrying on in Williams’s tradition before he died suddenly in November 2018.
The custom of having the Planning Board Chairperson attend and participate in Town Council meetings ended when now-Mayor Elizabeth Morey assumed the position. Current Chairperson Andy Ward, who succeeded Ms. Morey, has appeared occasionally, but not on a regular basis.
We do not believe that the Town Council gives Planning Board members, all of whom it has appointed, the deference they are due. The Planning Board does not exist to serve the Town Council. It serves the town and its residents, and its voice should be heard and answered.
We would like to hear from the Planning Board Chairperson or another Board member on every ZTA. A public give-and-take between the two commissions should be restored.
2023-24 BEACH MONITORING REPORT NEEDS A PLAIN-ENGLISH SUMMARY.
Before the Town Council dispatched ZTA 24-05, beach nourishment consultant Ken Willson of Coastal Protection & Engineering of North Carolina, gave another redundant, overly complicated presentation to the Council, this time reporting on CPE’s monitoring of the Southern Shores’ shoreline and beach sand volume between June 2023 and June 2024.
CPE submits annual reports on the state of the beaches.
Unfortunately, because he reviews so much, Mr. Willson has been presenting much of the same material to the Town Council since 2017.
We have heard him speak, and read his abstruse reports, for seven years. You may read his latest report, which he submitted with Tuesday night’s presentation, here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/obzhiqimd6hl4pe5r9hgr/2024- SS-KH-KDH-Monitoring-Report.pdf?rlkey=sjpcikcs939y9n3u615f8sn6f&e=1&st=budjawlp&dl=0.
This report includes shoreline and volume changes measured by monitoring the beaches in Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills, as well as Southern Shores, which makes it even more difficult to read.
With all due respect, Mr. Willson has a knack for stringing together familiar words in sentences that are meaningless to most people—except perhaps Mayor Pro Tem Neal and Town Manager Cliff Ogburn.
After he finished, Mayor Morey thanked Mr. Willson for “making” his “comprehensive” report “so we can understand it.”
We doubt anyone in the Pitts Center who listened to his presentation—other than the aforementioned—understood what he said. Mr. Neal’s questions showed familiarity with Mr. Willson’s report.
The Town Council should ask Mr. Willson to explain in one page what the annual beach monitoring showed. Not an “Executive Summary,” like he includes in his report, but a one-page, plain-English, what-did-the-profiling-show synopsis.
If he were to undertake this task, we believe he could write in about 250 words how well the Southern Shores beaches are doing—because of the 2022-23 nourishment project and because of natural forces. All of the figures and coastal-engineering speak that he employs only obscure the bottom-line assessment.
One detail of Mr. Willson’s presentation that was clearly understood by the Town Council, however, was his assumption that the Town will do a 2027 beach-maintenance project that is estimated to cost at least $6.6 million.
Councilman Batenic, who we recall made comments during his first year in office indicating his lack of awareness of the every-five-years “maintenance” schedule, asked Mr. Willson about this eventuality and its cost. His eyes clearly rolled upward, behind his glasses, with mention of the price tag.
Originally appointed to his seat after Town Council Member Elizabeth Morey was elected mayor, Mr. Batenic has proved to be a thoughtful representative of the public, one who has an independent streak that we would like to see him to exercise more often. (He ran for office in 2023 and earned his elected seat.)
When we pointed out to the Mayor in 2020 that Mr. Batenic was not informed about the five-year maintenance plan, she told us that the plan was not set in stone. The Town might not adhere to that schedule, she said. Mr. Willson certainly acted on Tuesday like it is a done deal.
CHICAHAUK SIDEWALK MAINTENANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR MORE SPACE.
Speaking of deals, the Town Council unanimously approved accepting a revised agreement between the Town and the Chicahauk Property Owners Assn. (CPOA) that calls for the Town to do $79,000 of maintenance on Chicahauk sidewalks in exchange for receiving 12,711 more square feet of easement space.
The additional square footage would be incorporated into an existing easement granted to the Town by the CPOA for the Town’s use of a parking area near the Chicahauk Trail and N.C. 12 intersection. (See The Beacon, 11/30/24, for a full description.)
Exercising his independent streak, Mr. Batenic, who is a Chicahauk resident, pointedly asked Town Manager Ogburn: “Is that all we get?”
“Somehow I feel like we’re being hoodwinked here,” he said.
“We’re being handed sidewalks—and being asked to fix them—that they let deteriorate.”
Quite rightly.
In our pre-meeting report 11/30/24, we expressed concern for residents whose back yards might front on the Town’s expanded easement space. We don’t think 10-foot vegetative buffers do much to blunt noise from parking or any other ingress-and-egress with vehicles. But now we appreciate Councilman Batenic’s perspective.
Why isn’t the CPOA contributing some money to the sidewalk repair?
Mr. Ogburn related that the CPOA had declined to make a financial contribution, and because the sidewalks, which the CPOA owns, are in the Town’s right-of-ways, the Town has responsibility for maintaining their condition.
“It’s the best deal we’re going to get,” Mayor Morey said.
HELP WANTED: LONG-RANGE TOWN PLANNING CONSULTANT.
The Town Council held a closed session Tuesday night after completing its business agenda. When it returned, the Mayor announced that she and her colleagues had authorized the Town Manager to hire a consultant “to help us with long-term town planning.” We wonder what the Town Council has in mind, but, as usual, the Mayor offered no elaboration.
AND FINALLY, WE CONGRATULATE POLICE CHIEF DAVID M. KOLE on marking 40 years of service in law enforcement.
Southern Shores Deputy Police Chief Jonathan M. Slegel presented Chief Kole with an award Tuesday in recognition of his milestone achievement. The Chief has served in Southern Shores since early 2007. Before arriving in town, he served 22 ½ years as Chief of Police for the Village of Horseheads, N.Y.
In his earlier staff report to the Town Council, Chief Kole announced that Sergeant Matthew W. Cooke received the Police Department’s 2024 “Top Gun” award for having the highest firearms proficiency, and Officer Tracy M. Mann, who is the School Resource Officer, received the 2024 “Officer of the Year” award, an honor given by her peers.
Congratulations to all.
By Ann G. Sjoerdsma, The Beacon, 12/5/24
The Southern Shores Beacon 