Technical Corrections Ordinance
By Scott Sherrill
Not 12*
A Pine Knoll Shores Technical Corrections Ordinance is making its way through
the approval process. The ordinance is, much as its title suggests, not a significant
revision of town policies, but changes to bring our ordinances into compliance with
a variety of state laws and correct other administrative issues.
The ordinance is broken down into six articles: signs, administrative technical
corrections, legislatively mandated changes, unlisted uses, maximum lot coverage,
and severability.
Ihe signs portion of the ordinance removes content-based regulations that
we did not catch during the sign ordinance rewrite. It also expands general sign
guidelines to clearly govern the MFl and MF2 zoning districts, and it allows town
staff discretion in determining whether or not to remove a sign from the right of
way of town streets.
The administrative technical corrections
portion of the ordinance acknowledges that
the town planner could be a code enforcement
official. It also clarifies that the 12-inch height
limit for retaining walls is as shown in the
graphic to the right. The section also directs
appeals to the Board of Adjustment from
decisions of the Planning Board, eliminates an
annual Community Appearance.Commission report, changes a circular reference
in the minor landscape permit process, and incorporates the storm water plan into
the quasi-judicial findings for major landscape permits.
The legislatively mandated changes are the most significant policy adjustments
to the town’s ordinances, and they are driven by changes to state law. The first is
in regard to storm water: the technical corrections ordinance exempts projects
which are subject to state permitting from local storm water requirements; it also
eliminates language regarding swimming pools from the storm water section
entirely. The. second change eliminates protest petitions, in accordance with Session
Law 2015-160. Protest petitions, which would have impacted rezonings, have
been replaced by citizen comments, which do not necessitate a supermajority vote
for approval of the rezoning. The third legislatively mandated change was driven
by Session Law 2014-94, which required that counties and municipalities allow
temporary family home healthcare structures as accessory uses in single family
zoning districts. The fourth legislatively mandated change is driven by the riparian
buffer reform components of Session Law 2015-246, and states that setbacks from
surface water shall not be more stringent than those set by the state. The town
requires that structures be set back from the sound by 100 feet; the state limit is 30
feet. The riparian buffer changes will go into effect January 1, 2017.
The unlisted uses section clarifies procedures to bfe employed when a use is not
in the towns chart of permitted uses. It sets up a staff review, which is appealable to
WILLS, Trusts, Estate Planning & Asset
Protection for Senior Citizens
Jane Gordon,
Attorney at Law
Kirkman, Whitford, Brady,
Berryman & Farias, RA.
General Practice Attorneys
jgordon@kirkmanwhitford.com
710 Arcndcll .Street • Morehead City, NC 28557
252-726-8411
lawyersC4>kirkmanwhitford.com • www.kirkmanwhitford.com
The Shoreline
December 2016
the Board of Adjustment, to analyze wJiether or not a proposed use is similar.4.0 an v
existing approved use. If a proposed use fails in the analysis; the ordinance language
makes clear that the property owner may submit for a conditional zone or for a text
amendment.
The maximum lot coverage component of the ordinance is a temporary fix in
considering swimming pools as part of development limits, but separating the pools
entirely from storm water requirements. A subcommittee is working to develop a
long-term solution.
The final element of the ordinance is an article on severability, which means that
if portions of the ordinance were found to be illegal, it would not invalidate the
entire ordinance.
Some elements that are left out of the final draft are also important to note,
particularly to those who have been following this ordinance through the review
process:
• It does not include special use permit procedures, which would primarily
impact the commercial structure at 112 Salter Path Road.
• It does not include adjustments to the town’s tree diameter requirements,
which is also heading to a subcommittee.
• It does not include rezoning adjustments to Roosevelt Beach (this is
progressing on the same timeline as the Technical Corrections Ordinance and
does not change anything underlying about the zoning district: it only converts
the existing conditional use permit to a conditional zone; the Planning Board
is separately considering similar adjustments to 114 Salter Path Road, which is
part of the Seabrook subdivision, but also taking into account the current use
of the property).
• It excludes provisions to bring the town’s ordinance into compliance with
NCOS 160A-383.1, which prohibits municipalities from completely zoning out
. manufactured housing (mobile homes), and which imposes additional limits
on the regulation of manufactured housing by local governments. The town
will look to address this issue separately.
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