Phone 910-457-4568/Fax 910-457-9427/e-mail pilot@southport.net
THE STATE PORT
Cougar out
New South Brunsv
examines the task ;
Busfoute!
School’s just aroi
bus routes, driver
Publishe
rv in Southoort. NC
County
pushing
for sand
By Terry Pope
Staff Writer.
County officials want to help land
7.75 million cubic yards of sand for
area beaches from the Wilmington
Harbor Project.
Harry Simmons, chairman of' the
Brunswick Beaches Consortium,
won the support of the Brunswick
County Board of Commissioners last
week for BBC’s goal of securing
dredge spoil from the project, sched
uled to begin in March, 2000.
“It would greatly help our beaches
that are suffering the effects of ero
sion,” said Simmons.
The BBC has been actively in
volved in getting sand from the
dredging project which will deepen,
widen and straighten the Cape Fear
River channel, resulting in a new 6.7
mile ocean channel for vessels reach
ing the State Ports docks in Wil
mington. It will result in a one-time
deposit of 7.75 million cubic yards of
sand plus a yearly amount of one mil
lion cubic yards from routine mainte
nance.
In a resolution approved last week,
cotinty commissioners have asked U.
S. Congressman Mike McIntyre and
state legislators for help to secure
both federal and state funds for the
project. Programs now exist to joint
ly provide matching funds of up to
87.5 percent of the total costs for
placing the sand from the U. S. Corps
of Engineers’ project on adjacent
beaches.
Simmons said this is a once-in-a
lifetime chance for the entire county
to benefit from the dredging. The
BBC and area beach communities
See Project, page 10
♦
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( ,
Oak Island Town Council meets
Mainland revelers cause for concern
Photo By Jim Harper
Go fly a kite
Frank and Barbara Seidita filled the sky with color and the nylon on west < >ak Island. More on their kiting exposition in
beach with fun last week as they launched wave after wave of the “Neighbors" section.
Alterations needed
City aldermen don’t buy
commercial ‘zones’ plan
By Richard Nubel
Staff Writer
Design guidelines for large-scale com
mercial development were not in a form
to be adopted as an amendment to
Southport's zoning ordinance Thursday
night, city attorney Mike Isenberg told a
disappointed crowd observing a monthly
meeting of the city board of aldermen.
Isenberg will refine language in the
draft “Commercial Design Guidelines”
and members of a special task force and
the planning board Thursday may revise
the ordinance tor possible adoption by
the board of aldermen August 12. The
planning board and task force will meet
at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.
The city attorney told supporters of the
ordinance amendment that vagaries in
the document "drafted by a special task
force, formed in reaction to location of
Wal-Mart outside the city, would render
it useless. He cited language in the docu
ment that purported to set out guidelines
for parking, but said only that each cir
cumstance was “preferred.”
Another instance of an unenforceable
guideline: “It is preferred that buildings
should be located closer to streets to min
imize the scale of the overall develop
ment.”
Language like that allows the city no
actual control and the draft ordinance
prepared by the task force and alderman
Meezie Childs was riddled with this
See Southport, page 6
‘This is what... cities
are demanding. This
city has a right to
demand it, too.... The
basic premise of this
document is sound.'
Paul Swenson
Southport resident
Caswell Beach caution
Close eye on visual rules
By Richard Nubel (
Staff Writer
Some accommodation should be made to owners who cannot
build on their lots because of the combined requirements of sep
tic tank placement, CAMA setbacks and the Caswell Beach visu
al barrier ordinance, commissioners agreed Tuesday. But, that
offer of relief should be made more cautiously than the town’s
planning board has suggested.
The town’s visual barrier ordinance — established shortly after
incorporation in 1975 but only codified in 1992 — was created
to prevent owners from building homes so as to block the ocean
and marsh views of adjacent homeowners. On smaller marsh
side lots, it is nearly impossible to build homes of si/e while
meeting spatial requirements for septic tanks, the CAMA setback
from the marsh and the visual barrier ordinance.
Commissioners Thursday directed town attorney Elva Jess to
toughen proposed revisions of the town's visual barrier ordi
nance the planning board had suggested. ’Ibe planning board
sought to establish guidelines for those who encounter placement
“hardships."
The visual harrier ordinance has caused homes along Caswell
Beach Road to be built in a line, with no structure extending for
ward of another. The planning board said homes on smaller lots
that could not fall in line and meet septic and CAMA require
See Barriers, page 14
Secondary roads
are board priority
By Terry Pope
Staff Writer
While some areas of the state are begging for new highways.
Brunswick County officials are more concerned about the repair and
upgrade of roads which are already here.
It is a concern shared by N. C. Department of Transportation offi
cials, who for now are locked into a formula for disbursing road con
struction funds. That formula often doesn’t reach the areas of great
est need quickly enough to satisfy residents or elected officials.
“One of my missions is to see if we can get some more funds for
See Roads, page 13
No jurisdiction,
but some effort
is forthcoming
By Richard Nubel
Staff Writer
They ride noisy all-terrain vehicles
on the mainland along the Yellow
Banks. They get drunk, get loud. cuss,
litter and even get naked.
And, the Town of Oak Island can do
nothing directly about them.
Residents of the Yellow Banks sec
tion of Oak Island told their new town
councilors Tuesday night they can no
longer enjoy their homes because of
the revelers occupying the area across
the Intracoastal Waterway from them
at all times of the day and night.
Aggrieved Oak Island owners of
Yellow Banks property know their
town has no direct jurisdiction across
the waterway, but it is to the town they
look for assistance.
"Give us something that will stop the
noise pollution.” pleaded Tim Jones, of
108 West Yacht Drive. “We're just ask
ing for help.”
Council said it would weigh in on
Yellow Banks property' owners’ behalf,
but promised no quick or satisfying
—.solution-.. ■ ■
Ill Oil UlUCViAYCU HYcWACY, V JiVK \S\VXYM.\
Town Council, at its first regular busi
ness meeting since the consolidation ot
Long Beach and Yaupon Bough
refused to approve the slate of officer
elected by the 0;tk Island Volunteei
lire Department, /’he department's
bv/aws call lor council to ratilv its /isl
ol elected o/Iicers. Council ivlhscd to
do so, noting none of the officers had
obtained state certification as firelight
ers.
Residents of the Oak Island side of
the Yellow Banks told council
Brunswick County Sheriff's Depart
ment and county central communica
tions personnel had been no help in
ending the loud parties and loud vehi
cle use that goes on throughout the
night on the mainland side of the
Intracoastal Waterway. The banks
structure is being tom away and debris
— including old mattresses — is being
washed into the waterway.
"What we can do is ask other people
to enforce their ordinances," mayor
Joan Altman told the Yellow Banks
owners. "Where they don't have ordi
nances. we will ask them to create
them."
Later in the meeting, council direct
ed co-mayors Dot Kelly ;tnd Altman to
write Brunswick County sheriff
Ronald Hewett and county commis
See Oak Island, page 16
World War II uniform
Children of Seaman 2nd Class Garfield C. Potts, a survivor of the fiery sinking of the tanker John D. Gill off
Southport in 1941, visited the Southport Maritime Museum this week to deliver Potts'uniform to display with
other mementos already on exhibit Lett to right are Robin Potts of Fayetteville, Tenn., Joyce F. Pollock of
Kansas City, Mo., and Roger W. Potts of Fort Worth, Texas. More on this story in “Waterfront”
JNfcWS on the iNfcl: www.southport.net l