Happy Halloween, everyone. Have fun and be safe.
We have been on hiatus since our last post and will continue on hiatus indefinitely. We have returned to book writing and editing and do not know when we may resume regular reporting for The Beacon. We will continue to aspire to report on major news events that occur in town.
Next Tuesday, as you all know, is Election Day, and all of the Dare County towns have municipal elections.
For the first time in more than 10 years Southern Shores has a candidate running unopposed for office in a municipal election.
In fact, we have two candidates running unopposed, both of them incumbents: Elizabeth Morey for mayor and Paula Sherlock for her seat on the Town Council.* Each was elected in 2021 and has served a four-year term.
In the 24 years since Southern Shores started electing its mayor by direct popular vote, we have never had an uncontested mayoral election. Until then, the five-member Town Council, which was popularly elected, chose the mayor from among themselves, as the Town of Duck has been doing since its 2002 incorporation.
The polling place in Southern Shores on Tuesday is the Pitts Center.
The Southern Shores Town Council will hold its November meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 1 p.m. in the Pitts Center. For the agenda and meeting packet, see:
There will be a public hearing Wednesday on Town Code Amendment 25-01, which has two purposes:
- To repeal Town Code section 1-14, which was just added to the Code by the Town Council in September, in order to comply with N.C. law enacted on Oct. 6; and
- To amend Town Code section 6-5 to limit building permits required for retaining walls and to eliminate building permits for fences.
At its Sept. 2 meeting, the Town Council unanimously approved ZTA 25-05, which established a one-year waiting period for a property owner to resubmit to the appropriate Town decision-making authority an application for administrative development approval or a zoning text amendment that the Town has disapproved, absent some substantial change in circumstances.
The new section sought to limit the number of “bites at the apple” by a property owner whose request has been denied and who files another same or similar application without showing a substantial change.
Planning Director/Deputy Town Manager Wes Haskett informed the Town Council at the September meeting that there was a bill (House Bill 926) then-pending in the N.C. General Assembly that would nullify new section 1-14 if it became law. It did so on Oct. 6.
The new State law prohibits the inclusion of waiting periods in municipal development regulations that would prevent a landowner, developer, or other applicant from refiling a denied or withdrawn application for a zoning map amendment, text amendment, development application, or request for development approval.
The legislature wants to give developers multiple bites at the apple without having to wait between the bites.
The Town Council has no choice but to approve the repeal of Code section 1-14. State law preempts it.
TCA 25-01 also proposes amending the Town Code section on building permits to specify that permits are only required for retaining walls that are “from five feet to a maximum of six feet in height” and are never required for the construction or erection of fences.
Section 36-97 of the Town Code limits the height of both retaining walls and fences in the residential districts to six feet—hence the language about a maximum of six feet.
(FYI: You may file a Town Code compliance complaint with the Town if you are aware of a Code violation: See https://www.southernshores-nc.gov/media/8401 for a complaint form. The Town Code is readily accessible on the Town website at https://library.municode.com/nc/southern_shores/codes/code_of_ordinances. The Zoning Code is in Chapter 36.)
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Also on the meeting agenda are recognition of Police Officer Tracy M. Mann, who serves as the School Resource Officer, for 15 years of service; and approval of a contract for the Southern Shores Fire Dept. to provide fire protection services to unincorporated Martin’s Point.
*POSTSCRIPT ON ELECTION:
What does it mean when incumbents run unopposed for important municipal offices?
Some residents/voters believe that the lack of opposition is a testament to the job performance and qualifications of the candidates. Others believe it is a sign of disinterest and/or apathy.
We doubt that anyone in Southern Shores is deeply disappointed with the local government. But we do have differences of opinion in the community on issues that arise in town, such as, e.g., on the need for beach nourishment in 2027.
The first administration by Mayor Morey has been distinctive for its rule-by-consensus. We can recall only one time in the past four years when the five-member board did not act unanimously. Even when Town Council members express discomfort or disagreement with the position taken by a majority of the Council, they still vote with it.
We have no minority voice on the Town Council.
We would have liked to have had a contested election and to have had a Town Hall discussion among candidates in response to questions and concerns of property owners. Bottom line, we would like to see more community involvement.
THE SOUTHERN SHORES BEACON, 10/31/25
The Southern Shores Beacon 