Canine Reflections
SWT PHOTO ?r HBC CAKtSON
"Jake" the dachshund displays two sides of his personality as he enjoys the Festival by the Sea parade from the window of a pickup truck
parked beside the Holden Beach causeway last week.
Lot Coverage Restrictions Draw Fire
At Holden Beach Monday Night
BY DOUG RUTTER
A controversial plan to more
strictly regulate the percentage of
each lot covered by buildings at
Holden Beach drew fire from a large
crowd at Monday night's town
meeting.
After approximately two hours of
public comments and discussion,
town commissioners took no action
on a planning and zoning board rec
ommendation to change residential
lot coverage restrictions.
The town presently limits the
amount of each lot that can be cov-.
ered by homes and other structures
to 30 percent of the platted, or
mapped, area. Roof overhangs are
not included in the calculation.
Commissioners are considering
changing the rules to start including
roof overhangs, and more important
ly, limit coverage to 30 percent of
the usable lot area, which is less
than the platted area in many cases.
Commissioner Jim Fournier said
the change is aimed at reducing
stormwater runoff, which state offi
cials say is a leading cause of bacte
"This is an effort to control
building houses that are too big
for the lot by going back to the
platted area. " ? Jim Fournier
rial pollution that has led to the clo
sure of local shellfish waters.
"This is an effort to allow us to
control stormwater runoff," Foumicr
said. "This is an effort to control
building houses that are too big for
the lot by going back to the platted
area."
About 15 people, including sever
al builders and developers, spoke
out against the proposed change
Monday. They said there are other
ways to control runoff besides cut
ting down on the size of houses.
They said the change would
greatly reduce the size of homes al
lowed in certain areas and prevent
people from rebuilding what they al
NOVEMBER 1 7
Sandbags, Beach Nourishment
On Hearing Agenda For CRC
ine N.c. Coastal Resources
Commission (CRC) will hold two
public hearings at 4 p.m. Thursday,
Nov. 17, at the Ramada Inn in Kill
Devil Hills on proposed changes in
rules governing oceanfront sandbag
use and erosion response.
The hearings are part of the
CRC's regularly scheduled meeting
Nov. 17 and 18, with sessions begin
ning Hi 8:50 a.m. each day.
The proposed sandbag rule
changes are intended to clarify sev
eral points that have made enforce
ment of existing rules difficult.
As proposed the state would al
low sandbags for the protection of
threatened buildings and threatened
septic systems associated with the
buildings. Sandbags could stay in
place for two years for structures
smaller than 5,000 square feet, and
for five years for larger structures.
They could also remain for five
years in areas actively developing
beach renourishment projects.
A sandbag permit would be is
sued only one time for a given prop
erty, even if that property changes
ownership.
TV intended use of sandbags as
ero: ion control devices is to protect
oceai.front property long enough to
give landowners time to relocate
threatened structures. But many peo
ple have retained the bags as perma
nent installations.
According to the N.C. Office of
Coastal Management, sandbags can
cause some of the same problems as
"hard" structures, including in
creased erosion on adjacent proper
ties and interference with pedestrian
and vehicular access to the beach.
Proposed changes to the CRC's
rules governing erosion response
would make clear that beach nour
ishment, when feasible, is an accept
able response to erosion.
The state's ban on hard erosion
control devices such as seawalls
would continue, except when the
commission determines there is an
overriding need for such a project.
For example the CRC made an ex
ception in permitting a seawall at
Fort Fisher State Historic Site
Copies of the proposed rules are
available in the North Carolina Re
gister or from the N.C Division < A
Coastal Management V1V-733
2293 The deadline (of written com
ments on the proposed changes is
Dec. 1. They should be scat to the
CRC care of the NjC Division of
Coastal Management, P.O. Box
27687, Raleigh, N.C. 2761 1 -7687
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ready have in the event of a storm or
fire.
However, town code allows the
rebuilding of non-conforming, sin
gle-family homes. Building Inspec
tor Doug Gillette said the proposal
would not affect the replacement of
existing homes.
As proposed, the usable area of
oceanfront lots would be measured
from the first stable line of vegeta
tion. Canal lots would be measured
from the bulkhead and lots fronting
marsh would be measured from a
"wetland" line.
Developer Alan Holden said
property owners are concerned that
the new regulation would prevent
them building their retirement home.
"There's going to be some mad
people when they find out they can't
build their dream house as some of
us have," Holden said.
"This nothing more than a tactic
to prevent more people from coming
to Holden Beach," he added. "This
is more than changing the speed lim
it. This is taking people's property
r
and taking people's dreams."
Holden Beach's planning and
zoning board recommended the
change as a means of controlling
density.
Developer Jim Griffin said if the
town wants to control density it
should restrict the number of bed
rooms, not the size of structures.
"If the reason this amendment is
being considered is density I think
you're going in the wrong direc
tion," he said.
If the proposed regulation had
been in effect for the last 25 years.
Griffin estimated that 60 to 75 per
cent ot the homes on Holden Beach
would not have been permitted.
Jim McSwain, a builder and for
mer town building inspector, said
the proposal could affect 600 to 800
of the undeveloped lots on the island
that sit along the oceanfront, water
way or canals.
"We still haven't proved we have
an overcrowding problem or a den
sity problem," McSwain said. "Do
not make a law that is going to af
fect everybody because of a few
people."
Island businessman Larry Mc
Dowell said he doesn't think there's
anything wrong with the current
rule. "I don't think we've got any
thing broke now so why not leave it
like it is?"
Said Don Campbell, "I don't
know where this ordinance came
from. I think it's ridiculous."
ALL THESE PEOPLE HAVE
A YELLOW RAGE BOOK,
BUT THEY'RE
READING YOUR AD
IN THE NEWSPAPER.
Three Injured Seriously
After Rear-End Collision
Three people were injured last
Wednesday afternoon in a rear-end
collision on Cedar Hill Road near
Navassa.
The accident on S.R. 1430 hap
pened at 3:15 p.m. when William
Douglas Davis Jr., 46, of Leland,
slowed his iy?3 cnevroiei siaiiuu
wagon and attempted a left turn into
a private driveway.
His vehicle was struck in the rear
by a 1984 Datsun operated by Ang
ela Rence McLain, 30, of Long
Beach, reported Trooper A. A. Lew
is.
Lewis charged McLain with fail
ure to reduce speed to avoid an acci
dent.
Davis. McLain and McLain 's pas
senger, Carl Ballard, 42, of Leland,
were transported to New Hanover
Regional Medical Center with seri
ous, non-incapacitating injuries.
Damage was estimated at S 1,500
to the Chevrolet and $1,000 to the
Datsun.
Lewis charged two drivers in
volved in an accident Friday, Nov. 4,
at 7 a.m. on N.C. 87 near Boiling
Spring Lakes.
Herman Dawson Jr., 55, of
Bolivia, had stopped his 1989
Chevrolet across the center line of
N.C. 87, to speak with the driver of
another vehicle that had just been in
volved in a minor accident, to find
out if he was all right.
Dawson's stopped car was struck
by a 1986 Honda operated Susan
Mists C-srt, 28, of Bolivia.
Lewis charged Dawson with im
peding traffic and Gore with failure
to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
Dawson, Gore and Dawson's pas
senger, Jonathan Johnson, 46, com
plained of minor injuries.
Damages were estimated at
$2,500 to each vehicle.
An Ash woman was charged with
driving while impaired early Sunday
after the truck she was operating
overturned on Project Road.
The accident happened at 12:15
a.m., reported Trooper D.B. Harvell,
as Jackie Lane Babson, 35, was dri
ving east on S.R. 1333 in a 1992
Ford pickup. The truck ran off the
right side of the road and out of con
trol, running back onto the highway
and overturning.
Babson complained of minor in
juries. Vehicle damage was estimat
ed at S2.000.
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