Page 4 The Shoreline August 2008
Line in the Sand
Continued from Page 1
development has been mininnally 30 times
the erosion rate or 60 feet landward from
the first line of stable natural vegetation.
The setback requirement could be more
than 60 feet depending on a structure's
size and average erosion rates. Setback
standards govern placement of new
structures on lots and rebuilding more
than 50% of existing structures.
Based on setback requirements relative
to the Static Vegetation Line, Chris Jones
the town's code enforcement officer,
has listed 28 nonconforming structures
in Pine Knoll Shores, 19 houses and
nine condos, with a total tax value of
$249 million. Many of these property
owners do not have lots deep enough to
rebuild landward. Salter Path and Indian
Beach also have a significant number of
nonconforming properties.
Consideringvegetationgrowth and dune
development since beach nourishment,
some property owners have wanted
rule changes regarding the current
Static Vegetation Line. Others feel the
new vegetation and new dunes are not
substantial and a Static Vegetation Line
prevents unwise oceanfront development.
The NC Coastal Resource Commission
has been conducting public hearings
on possible rule changes, which include
the definition of stable vegetation,
requirements for establishing a Static
Vegetation Line, setback factors, and
Trio
exemption policies.
This year, Carteret County's Shore
Protection Office has been leading an
effort to request a declaratory ruling that
would nullify the Static Vegetation Line
for Pine Knoll Shores, Indian Beach, and
Salter Path. The basis for the request is that
the beach nourishment project in 2001-02
ended before distributing 50 cubic yards of
sand per linear foot, which was required
for establishing a static line.
Salter Path residents signed a petition and
Indian Beach passed a resolution to request
a ruling. Since many nonconforming
properties are in Beacon's Reach and some
new dune development with vegetation
growth is beginning to be noticeable
there, Beacon's Reach Master Association
supports the request for a declaratory
ruling. However, the Pine Knoll Shores
Board of Commissioners at its last meeting
in June voted 3-2 not to endorse a request
for a hearing.
Then on July 21, the Carteret County
Commissioners voted unanimously to
request a declaratory ruling. The next
step is for the county to present its case
to the Coastal Resource Commission
chairperson, who has to agree to call a
hearing. So, the static vegetation line's
future in Pine Knoll Shores, Indian
Beach, and Salter Path is at this point still
uncertain.
>200,000 cy at
50/cy/ft
Shore Protection
Project
StAUVeC€TAT30K
Perpetuity = If non-conforming/unbuildable before static, then
forever non-confonming/unbuiidabie.
Graphic illustrates the impact of the Static Vegetation Line
Continued from Page 1
supply and wastewater management
systems in Brandywine Bay, Spooner's
Creek, Fairfield Harbour and Carolina
Pines, among others.
When PKS officials decided to take
direct control of the town's water system
as of this May after purchasing it from
Carolina Water in 2005, there was no
doubt that Cunningham would come
along as part of the package. And that
he has, continuing to run the system he
knows so well now as an employee of the
Town of Pine Knoll Shores.
Julie Anderson
Julie Anderson was not predestined
to be the town's new finance officer. It
was more a case of being in the right
place at the right time and having the
right credentials to do the job. Julie was
hired last year to serve as the town hall
receptionist and deputy town clerk. When
a complication in accounting procedures
was uncovered a half year ago, Julie found
herself pressed into service to help deal
with the numbers and get the town's
finances back on track.
She brought a lot of experience to
the task. A native of Southbridge,
Massachusetts, Julie took a degree
in business administration with an
emphasis on marketing from Nichols
College there, working fulltime in the
college's finance office for four years in
order to complete her college studies at
night. After graduation she worked for
a manufacturer of personal protection
equipment handling marketing, investor
relations and mergers and acquisitions,
among other things, and followed that up
serving with a medical consulting firm in
the Biotech Belt outside of Boston involved
with development and certification of new
inventions in the medical field.
And, to emphasize the fact that she
knows how to do things by the numbers,
she served as a substitute math teacher in
Atlanta before moving to North Carolina
last year when her husband. Master
Gunnery Sergeant Cameron Anderson,
was transferred to Cherry Point. A
close look at Julie's resume, plus her
performance in the financial whirlpool
that gripped the community in the first
few months of the year, left little question
that the search for a financial officer was
at an end.
Janet Thomas
The timing of Janet Thomas' decision
to move back to North Carolina was
impeccable as far as PKS was concerned.
A certified town clerk with a wealth of
experience, she was right down the road
in Swansboro when Ronda Lambert
stepped down as town clerk in PKS in
order to become town administrator in
Indian Beach. Mrs. Lambert had served
admirably in the PKS post for eleven
years.
PKS lost no time engaging the services
of Mrs. Thomas, who had served as town
clerk in Surf City from 1983 to 2002.
Managing municipal affairs is a family
affair with Janet and her husband, Patrick,
a town manager who has filled that
position for a number of North Carolina
communities, including Jacksonville and
Farmville.
After spending more than five years
in Texas, where Mr. Thomas was born,
the couple decided to return to North
Carolina to be near their children, one
in Surf City, the other in Asheville.
They made the move last April after Mr.
Thomas was retained as Swansboro's new
town manager. And so it was that Mrs.
Thomas was not far away at all when a
new town clerk was needed in PKS.
A native North Carolinian, Mrs. Thomas
grew up in Winston-Salem. Her husband
also called Burgaw home for a decade
while he ran a weekly newspaper there.
The Shoreline plans to publish more
comprehensive sketches on Sonny
Curmingham, Mrs. Anderson and Mrs.
Thomas in forthcoming issues.
Pine Knoll Shores has been a Tree City
USA for eight years. To keep our Tree City
beautiful, we strongly suggest planting a
new tree when another is removed.
The free pamphlet Building and
Landscaping in Pine Knoll Shores is
S)id knmv?
available at town hall. This booklet has
good information and contains a listing
of trees and shrubs native to the maritime
forest.
From the Community Appearance
Commission.