Varnamtown Land
BOAT RAMP PARKING NEARLY FINISHED
Use Plan
Headin
g For
State, Federal Review
BY DOUG RUTTER
Stormwater runoff control, town
provision of water and sewer service
and maintenance of the Lockwood
Folly River are among the key is
sues covered in Varnamtown's first
land use plan.
Aldermen accepted a preliminary
draft of the 50-page document Mon
day night, finai approval wont
come until late 1994 or early 1995
following an extensive review by
state and federal agencies.
Along with consultant Howard
Capps of Wilmington, Varnam
town's planning board has been
working several months on the plan.
It includes data and policies that will
help guid* development for the next
10 years.
The Coastal Area Management
Act requires land use plans for all
local governments in the state's 20
coastal counties. They provide the
basis for protection, preservation,
orderly development and manage
ment of the coast.
The state and federal review of
Varnamtown's plan will mfcr about
three months, according to Zoe
Bruner, district planner with the
N.C Division of Coastal Manage
ment in Wilmington.
A public hearing will be held af
ter town board members incorporate
the various comments, corrections
and suggestions into their plan and
come up with a final draft.
After local adoption, the plan will
go to the N.C. Coastal Resources
Commission for final certification
The plan includes information on
population, local eoooomy. existing
land use, current regulations and
constraints to development such as
flood hazard areas, soil conditions,
wetlands and water and sewer facili
ties.
Also included in the document are
an existing land use map, land clas
sification map, a hazards map show
ing areas susceptible to flooding and
a sketch of the town park on Sab
bath Home Road.
The most important part of the
plan is the policy section town offi
cials will use to guide the communi
ty's growth for the next five years,
when an updated plan will be draft
ed.
Among the key policy statements
is that officials will pursue extension
of water and sewer service to the
>own if it can be done with state or
federal grants and without increas
ing taxes.
Based on the results of a ques
tionnaire mailed to residents earlier
this year, the community is evenly
split over whether the town should
provide water and sewer service.
Out of 69 people responding to
the survey, 24 said the town should
provide water through increased tax
es and/or grants and 29 disagreed.
Twenty -one said the town should
provide sewer service and 26 dis
agreed.
Stormwater runoff was identified
in the plan as another primary con
cern in Varnamtown. Officials and
residents are worried that develop
ment in the Lockwood Folly River
basin could degrade water quality.
The approved policy calls for the
town board to consiuci establishing
an ordinance that would require
runoff from development and agri
culture be as near to natural condi
tions as possible.
Aldermen also plan to continue
supporting maintenance of the Lock
wood Folly River channel as a navi
gable stream for boating and fishing.
"The river is perhaps the single
most important natural feature of the
community, and there is consider
able interest in seeing that the river
is maintained in a useful and attrac
tive condition," the plan says.
"If the river were to beo>me un
navigable, commercial fishing and
recreational boating and fishing
would cease, and the overall quality
of life for many residents would de
cline measurably."
Although town officials recognize
development constraints along the
river, they "question the accuracy"
of existing floodplain maps used by
the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA).
Some of the area shown in the
floodpiain is on a high bluff over
looking the river. The town plans to
ask FEMA to review flood eleva
tions along the bluff.
Most Varnamtown residents think
the population should remain about
the same over the next 10 years, ac
cording to the questionnaire results.
An overwhelming majority of re
spondents said future development
must be planned. Residents also
agreed that the community's appear
ance needs to be improved and nat
ural resources and wildlife should be
protected.
Residents were split oo the issue
of whether more residential and
commercial development should be
encouraged in Varnamtown
Boat Ramp Parkins
Preliminary work on the new boat
ramp parking lot on Fisherman Road
should be finished this week. Al
derman Will Mi-mford said Monday.
Contractor Major White of Ash
was nearing completion of the grad
ing and fill work early this week.
Mumford said the town will have
to pay about $2,600 more than
White's original bid of $8,600.
The town underestimated the
amount of dirt and marl that would
be needed for the project. Mumford
said the project required about 550
cubic yards of fill dirt and 325 tons
of marl.
Aldermen gave approval Monday
to spend approximately $550 to add
the finishing touches. Tbey include
$416 for 12 sections of 8-foot-by-6
foot stockade fence, $60 for land
scape timbers, $50 for a sign and
$20 for cement.
The parking lot will serve the
newly-reconstructed boat ramp on
Lockwood Folly River.
The lot was built to keep vehicles
and boat trailers from parking on the
side of the road, where they block
driveways and create a traffic hazard.
Town officials have decided not
to mark off parking spaces in the lot
at this time. They want to see how
much it is used before doing any
further work.
"The thing that concerns me a lit
tle bit is it's 200 yards up the road
(from the ramp). Let's see what kind
of use it gets," Mumford said.
"I agree with Will," said board
member Ennis Swain. "Hold back
on it aiwt w what happens for a
while."
Mumford said one light will be
installed at the boat ramp and anoth
er at the parking lot.
Community Watch
Mayor Judy Galloway said resi
dents have told her they're interest
ed in establishing a community
watch program in Vamamtown.
"One lady especially, she had
somebody go in her house and she
wants to get this started," Galloway
said.
The mayor is trying to set up a
meeting with a representative from
the Brunswick County Sheriff's De
partment.
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