Sunset Beach Council
Slates
Multiple Hearings
HY SUSAN USIIKR
Sunsci Beach Council members
aie gelling a lot of meetings under
their belt these days, between mak
ing plans loi a sewer system, u(xtai
ing the C'AMA land use plan and
putting together a 1992-93 budget
All three of these items will be
the topics of upcoming meetings
and/or hearings
Height Limit Kyed
A public hearing will be held
June 15 at 7:30 p in. at the town hall
on a proposal that would limit the
height ol buildings in all zoning dis
tru-Ls on the island, tying the limit to
l(K)-yeai lloodplain elevations.
Ibe planning board is also rccom
mending that the town amend the
zoning ordinance to eliminate provi
sions lliat presently allow a building
to exceed the 35-foot height limit
under specific circumstances, such
as by pmviding gieatei setback ar
eas
Height limit refers not to the total
height of the structure, but the verti
cal distance from the peak from the
base tlixnl elevation The bottom ol
the lowest horizontal support beam
in the floodplain area must be a in in
imum of oik- fool above the base
flood elevation for the site. Given
the typical existing base HixhI eleva
lions on the island, a typical overall
building height might be50 feci to
52 feet, roughly that ol existing is
land construction. FUhhI elevations
arc subject to change
More Hearings Set
In rapid succession, council
scheduled other public hearings to
be conducted at the June 15 meet
ing.
At that Ume the council will heai
public comment on a number of
zoning-related proposals from the
planning board
l"he planners have recommended
zoning as commercial the southeast
corncr lot ai N.C. 904/N.C. I /9
north along N.C 904 to Dale Drive.
A narrower (2(H)- loot) strip ol land
from the far side ol the US. Postal
Service property to the Sea Village
subdivision would be zoned MR ?,
which allows single and mult i taut
ily residential development
The planning board has reconi
mended creation of a new classifica
lion, conservation, and recommend
ed applying that /oning to marshes
and wetlands in the town's junsdk
lion.
Also a hearing will be held on a
proposed amendent to the water 01
dinance that would require thai a hy
drant musl be located within MX)
feet ol all loLs, not all buildings, hi a
subdivision Town Admmisuaioi
Linda Fluegcl said a situation had
arose in Waterway kstates 111 which
the water line ended short ol that
distance from a building
In a housekeeping matter, another
hearing will amend a town ordi
nance lo retlecl that the uiwn lol
lows all volumes ol the N C
Building Code, not just the lirst two
Itudget Workshop Set
Council members want to have a
budget ready lor adoption by the
June 15 meeting, hoping to make
that a combination June/July regular
meeting If not, a special meeting
may be called later in June
With that goal in mind, the board
set a budget workshop June 4 at
7:30 p in at the town hall,
Lewis Nominated
On a motion by Mayor Pro tem
Ed Gore nominated retired engineer
Jerry I) Ixwis ol Shallolle lor ap
pointment to the Coastal Man
agemenl Commision scat now held
by Eugene Tomlinson Sr. of
South[K>rt, a retired engineer also In
his recommendation Gore noted
Lewis's qualilicauons lor the post
and said dial Tomlinson had served
the maximum time he could serve
on the CRC.
However, Mary Beth Joiner, as
sistant secretary in the N.(J. De
partition ol Coastal Management,
said Tuesday thai C Ke members arc
not limited in the number of terms
they can serve. Tomlinson is a long
time member ol the board and is
seeking reappointment.
Other Business
in other business, the council:
?Heard routine departmental re
ports
? I old the planning board to go
ahead and begin dialling a new lype
of business district classification for
ihe /.omng ordinance Hie new pro
fessional district, MB P, would pro
vide another option lot development
as ihe demand lor professional ser
vices increases in the community,
planning Nurd members indicated.
The district would he an appropriate
transitional use between residential
areas and general commencal areas
and might be an appropriate loi ie
classification ol some existing v .
mercial areas Planning hind
Chairman Kichard CuhkI said uiat
loi a community its si/e, Sunset
Beach has a large proportion ol area
zoned Tor business use.
? Heard from an audience member
that a deteriorating ramp to a spoil
area is a potential "attractive iiui
sance" and acknowledged liial di
reeling additional street drainage in
to the waterway and canals is not a
gotxl solution. I~he slate Department
ol Transportauon recently complet
ed a drainage project on Main
Street, with the drainage going into
the existing street drainage system.
Future Of Bird Island Remains In Limbo
State Officc ol Coastal Management (>ei stm
nel planned to visit Bird Island this week to verify
additional information submitted as part of the
owner's application tor a CAM A development
permit.
Concurrently, the Town of Sunset Beach has
begun the process of zoning the marshes and wet
lands that surround the island across Mad Inlet
Owner Janic Page I- nee of Greensboro and
Sunset Beach has said she wants to build a family
home on *he island, and possibly allow other fam
ily members to build there as well.
In February she applied for state and lederal
permits to allow development ol the island for
residential purposes, including replacement of a
former bridge to the island and construction of a
pier with docking space for six boats.
The application was incomplete, however,
and her agent was asked to submit additional in
formation
"We have just received that additional mloi
inauon. J nit Hcistine, manage! ol the agency's
tViiinuiguiii regional office said luesday "We
are in the process ol making sure it is accurate
and complete."
ITiat will entail an on site inspection of the is
land, he said. After that it will be about two weeks
before the office completes a field report l"hat re
port will be distributed to a variety of state and
federal agencies for review and comment, said
Hers tine.
fie said the suite will have a 75-day period in
which to make a decision on issuance of a devel
opincni permit, or else it will have to request an
extension ol time.
At its meeting Monday Sunset Beach Town
Council set a public hearing for Monday, June
15, at 7:30 p.m. at the town hall on the proposed
creation of a new classification, conservation, in
the town's zoning ordinance, and on the zoning ol
the marshes and wetlands within the town's juris
diction as conservation area including those
along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and
around Bird Island
Neither the town's land use plan nor zoning
ordinance had a conservation district.
Ihe designation would allow use ol the areas
so classified lor dredge spoil dis|K>sal, and would
allow construction of docks, piers, bridges, bulk
heads and causeways.
Planning Board Chairman Richard Good said
that, on the advice of town attorney Michael
Isenberg, the planning board will not recommend
zoning Bird Island ilscll as a conservation area
"We ie Mill working on a zoning iccouiiiieu
daUon loi Bird Island said Good " I hi attorney
advises us we must allow ihe properly owner to
make reasonable use ol that pioperty
At its regulai meeting in April the council
adopted a resolution supporting the purchase of
the island by a public or private entity for the pur
pose of maintaining it in a natural state.
However, at this unie there is no formal com
mitment by any organization to attempt to buy the
island, said Bill Ducker, a Sunset Beach property
owner interested in seeing the island remain un
developed Despite the town attorney's recom
mendation to the coimary, Duckcr has advocated
that the town /one the island for conservation He
says he is concerned that even if the island is mi
tially zoned only to allow limited development,
that over time the zoning would be changed to
permit development ai a greater density
While no fund has been established yet lor
purchase oi ihe island Ducker said there are sev
eial individuals working at the state and federal
level to determine what funds might be available
from public and private sources at those levels
"It's difficult to start a fund, not knowing
what we're working lor," he said, or it the asking
figure is within reach
"Having a fixed price on the island or being
told ii is not for sale would be very beneficial, "
he continued. "We're probably approaching that
point, but it could be a month or it could be a
year."
The zoning of the island could affcct the
pi in. hi suggested as could a deusion on devel
OpillClll |K I Mills
Without MK>*lii? ttlc sum needed U bu^ in>
island Duckci suggested, Uu?se who auiiI the is
land preserved ill its natural state have lew re
maining opiums.
"Then the only choice is to try to stymy de
velopment through the permuting system," he
said, by liymg to block issuance, for example, of
a permit to build a private budge over public bot
torn
"II Mrs Price's ultimate goal is sale ol the is
land for conservation purposes, I think u is incum
bent u(X)i) hei to set a price," Uucker suggested
Sunset Builders, Town Council
Compromising On More
Flexible And Quiet Work Hours
A compromise reached Monday night by Sunset Beach Town (. oun
cil will allow construction workers more flexibilty in work hours, while
ensuring quieter Sundays.
At the council's April meeting, a proposal to prohibit construction
activity year-round on Sundays passed, and led to additional restrictions
as well, despite a warning Irom one audicnce member that the board was
"fixing something that isn't baiken".
Mayor Mason Barber predicted then that builders would be before
the council at its May mecung, seeking redress
He was right.
With a handful of other builders and/or construction industry person
nel in the audience, Annette Odom, represenung her family's business as
well as the island's general contractors, asked the town to reconsider.
"Those hours are unacceptable to us," she said of the 8 a.m. to 7 p.111
Monday through Saturday year-round schedule
The schedule was adopted with the idea ol accommodating tourists.
Mrs. Odom asked the council to consider changing the hours from 7
a.m. until dark during the off-season months, with provisions for hard
ship cases, such as when a builder is up against a deadline. Before the
April meeting there had been no set ending time during the off-season
foi the workers
Six- said the contractors should not have tounil out about the changes
tn.wugn local newspapers and that the icsiriclions should nun ai? in
eluded othei noise gciieiaung activities
Agreeing that the changes were more than what the iowii needed iik
council adopted a new schedule: 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through
Saturday for the period from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and /
a in to I'- p m. other times. The Sunday ban remains in effect.
"TourisLs arc very important to as, but so are people trying to make a
living," said C'ouncilwoman Cherri Cheek.
Mayor Barber said the town plans to hold a workshop with local con
tractors to discuss other concerns expressed regarding the types ot pro
jeets for which building permits are required
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