The May 2007 • Vol. 3, No. 11 A Shoreline Community, Pine Knoll Shores, N.C. Town Hall 247-4353 New Building Site Requirements Broaden Permitting Process By Charlie McBriarty Last January your commissioners, by a vote of five to zero, passed "An Ordinance to Specify the Requirements of Landscape Plans and Permits and to Declare Harmful Drainage Practices Illegal." Initiated by the town's planning board, this ordinance is designed to establish landscape requirements, insure that grading of the site does not result in drainage to neighboring properties and create a process to review and approve landscape plans. The board of commissioners held public hearings and concluded that the ordinance was in keeping with the town's Land Use Plan and existing ordinances. What does this new ordinance mean? To the owner of a vacant lot in Pine Knoll Shores it will mean that the process of gaining approval for construction of a new home likely will be extended. The new ordinance requires that prior to any clearing or excavation of the lot the owner must first apply for a landscape permit. The application for a landscape permit must include: all required county, state and federal site permits; a site plan prepared by a professional engineer or land surveyor that identifies the lot lines and topography of the site; detailed building plans including all grading, excavation or filling required and identification of existing trees and shrubs to be removed as well as showing the location of new trees and shrubs to be planted. The application is submitted to the town's building inspector. Plans calling for no more than removal of vegetation need only be reviewed by the corr/munity appearance commission prior to the building inspector issuing a building permit. Similarly, if the (New Building) Continued on Page 6 Commissioners Wrestle With Tough Topics At Marathon Meeting By Yvette Bannen and Bill White The April meeting of the Pine Knoll Shores Board of Commissioners stretched out into five separate sessions as members wrestled with several complicated subjects, the budget, how to proceed on the beach access front, and when the town should take over management of the water system, which it purchased from Carolina Water Co. two years ago. Preparation is Key To Weathering Big Blows if They Come By Bill White Following the purchase, the town contracted with Carolina Water to manage the system for two years, at which time the town would consider running the system itself or taking the option of extending the management contract for another year. That two-year contract is due to end and, after extensive deliberations, (Commissioners) Continued on Page 6 W'ith hurricane season fast approaching, it's never too early to start thinking about how you will react if one of those big Atlantic weather events threatens to storm ashore somewhere around our neck of the woods. There are a lot of things to think about, some major concerns and a great many little details that may seem to be no- brainers at first blush but could become critically important if you wind up with a 100 mph wind whistling around your ears. Bill Matthias, the town's director of emergency services, has thought long and hard about the subject and come up with a comprehensive Hurricane Season Planning Guide in which he tries to provide tips to cover every eventuality. He may not have thought of everything, but for our money he has come pretty darn close. The Shoreline herewith reprints the guide in its entirety and suggests that every household save a copy for future reference. We also hope you won't need it, but that's pretty miich up to Mother Nature. As Matthias points out, one of the big decisions to be made if a storm approaches is whether you want to ride it out or leave the island for hopefully safer environs. The severity of the storm and a lot of other things, including the need for special assistance, can have a great deal of bearing on the choice you make. In the event of a strong storm, the town's emergency service personnel will evacuate the island with their equipment. If an evacuation of emergency personnel is announced, that's a pretty strong indication that it would be wise to go with them and residents are strongly encouraged to do so. The decision-making process doesn't end when the storm ends. Remember, if you evacuate you have to get back and one of the absolutely essential things you will need is a resident reentry pass. If you do not have one, a trip to the public safety building is in order. Enough said. Matthias takes it from here. See guidelines on page 4. March Catch - The unsual weather as spring aproached didn't prevent these PKS residents from boating a sizeable catch on a charter trip late in March. Displaying their catch are Ted Lindblad, Dale Bernhardt, Jim Hunter, Roger Markel, Ted Goetzinger and Richard Seale. See Seale's fishing column on page 16 Standard LABRIE LAWRENCE J ETUX Pre-Sort 144 BEECHWOOD DR Permit #35 PINE KNOLL SHORES, NO 28512 itic Beach, NC 28512 Deadline for June issue is Monday, May 21st Deadline for July issue is Monday, June 18 Articles always welcome!