(TO ALL BEACON READERS: We have retracted the post we hastily published on 4/19/26 about ZTA 26-01 because of factual inaccuracies made clear to us subsequent to publication. The Town’s public record online was scant, and we made false assumptions. We apologize for these errors and publish below a correct rewrite of the post. Later today, we will publish a report about the Planning Board’s decision on ZTA 26-01.)
A general contractor who lives in Southern Shores has submitted a Zoning Text Amendment that would reduce the minimum required residential side- and rear-yard setbacks by five feet for pool-related equipment, small accessory structures, and HVACs.
The Southern Shores Planning Board will hold a public hearing tomorrow on proposed ZTA 26-01, during its 5 p.m. meeting at the Pitts Center. The meeting will be live-streamed on the Town’s You Tube site.
For the meeting agenda, see https://www.southernshores-nc.gov/media/13541
Contractor Daniel S. Osman submitted the ZTA application after learning that a pool cabana he recently constructed for a customer violates the current rear-yard setback requirement of 25 feet, according to a report by Deputy Town Manager/Planning Director Wes Haskett in the record.
For Mr. Haskett’s staff report, see https://www.southernshores-nc.gov/media/13556
Town Code section 36-202(d) specifies the dimensional requirements for development on lots in the RS-1 district, which is the low-density single-family residential district in which most of us live, including.
Among the many requirements it sets forth to promote stable low-density development and to protect the coastal environment (e.g., minimum lot size, maximum lot coverage), section 36-202(d) mandates the minimum side and rear building setbacks. Currently, the minimum side-yard setback is 15 feet, and the minimum rear-yard setback is 25 feet. (See sections 36-202(d)(4) and (d)(5), respectively.)
Mr. Osman’s ZTA 26-01 proposes to add a caveat to each of these sections that reads:
“Notwithstanding [these requirements], for pool equipment, pool sheds, accessory structures up to 150 sf, and mechanical equipment (HVAC),” the minimum side-yard setback shall be 10 feet and the minimum rear-yard setback shall be 20 feet.
See ZTA 26-01 at https://www.southernshores-nc.gov/media/13566
Mr. Osman’s dilemma is not made clear in the ZTA 26-01-related materials on the Town website. The size and cost of the cabana are not specified, nor are the location of the cabana and the cost of its removal. We also wonder if Mr. Osman intends to include his cabana in the language, “pool equipment,” or in his “accessory structures” language.
According to Mr. Haskett’s report, the current 25-foot rear setback requirement has been in place since 1981, meaning since the first Town Code was enacted.
The Town of Southern Shores had a 10-foot side-yard setback until 2000, when the Town Council enacted the current 15-foot side-yard setback, after housing development began to increase dramatically in the 1990s.
Mr. Haskett points out in his report that the definition of “yard”—which is required open space—can be found in Town Code section 36-57.
As we read the definition, structures up to 30 inches in height are permitted in a yard’s open space, as are enumerated objects such as fences, walls, poles, dune decks, and other “customary yard accessories,” provided they meet height limitations and any other requirements of the Town’s Zoning Ordinance.
A pool cabana is clearly outside the scope of this definition’s permissible “accessories,” as are most of the other structures included in ZTA 26-01 and what we imagine “pool equipment” might be.
Another ambiguity exists in the language “mechanical equipment (HVAC).”
Does this phrase mean all mechanical equipment, such as HVACs, or does it mean HVACs only? If it means the latter, then the words “mechanical equipment” should be deleted and the acronym HVAC should be spelled out.
Mr. Haskett recommends in his report that the ZTA be approved, provided it is revised to eliminate pool sheds and to limit acceptable accessory structures to 144 square feet, or 12-by-12.
We respectfully disagree, especially as the ZTA concerns HVAC units, which are noisy, particularly when running air conditioning full-blast in the summertime.
As the ZTA is written, we believe other “mechanical equipment” also might slip by, equipment that might be even noisier than an HVAC.
We do not see how allowing potential nuisance structures to be erected five feet closer to adjacent properties “preserves local character,” as is the policy in the Town’s Land Use Plan.
We believe that a better approach for Mr. Osman to take is a request for a variance. We make no judgment, however, on whether or not he can meet the exacting standards for being granted a variance. (See Town Code section 36-367.)
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The Planning Board also will hold a public hearing on Town Code Amendment 2026-01, which is an overhaul of the requirements in Town Code Chapter 32, “Utilities,” concerning wastewater systems.
The Town of Southern Shores submitted TCA 2026-01.
See TCA 2026-01 at https://www.southernshores-nc.gov/media/13561
By Ann G. Sjoerdsma, The Southern Shores Beacon, 4/19/26
The Southern Shores Beacon 