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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Boat club, Surf Club upgrade, wireless tower pass planning board

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Three conditional use permit applications — for a proposed boat club, a temporary wireless tower in Wrightsville Beach Park and Surf Club deck renovations — are up for consideration by town leaders, and all three received favorable recommendations from the planning board April 7.

The board voted unanimously to recommend granting Scott Weismantel a conditional use permit to open nationwide franchise Carefree Boat Club at 96 W. Salisbury St. The permit would allow Weismantel to operate an office at that location and rent boats and three boat slips to club members.

During previous board meetings, he outlined his business’ safety precautions. Each club member would have to complete both classroom and on-the-water training before operating a Carefree Boat Club vessel, he said, and no one younger than 26 would be allowed to captain a boat.

A recent addition to town code also sets general rules for boat rental facilities, such as no storage of motor boats or trailers on the office’s lot, no Jet Ski or personal watercraft rentals and compliance with local, state and federal laws.

The board also voted unanimously to recommend the Surf Club, located at No. 1 Mallard St., receive a conditional use permit to construct a permanent awning over its existing 52- by 34-foot deck.

Joe Taylor, representing applicant R. Allen Rippy, said the Surf Club currently erects a temporary tent over its deck to host events all year and in all weather. When severe storms threaten the coast during hurricane season, Taylor said, the club must remove the temporary awning and its supporting structures.

“Our aim is to create something that is a little more convenient for the members and provides safety for everybody in the neighborhood,” he said. “We are not changing the use [of the deck] at all. … We’re just replacing one type of awning with another.”

Taylor implied nearby residents should not have noise concerns because the Surf Club’s building is relatively small compared to the size of the lot, creating a substantial buffer between activity at the club and residential district it abuts.

“We’re a good neighbor,” he said. “You see, we use very little of our four and a half acres. … The closest house to us on Mallard Street is over 300 feet away.”

Vice chairman Ace Cofer asked the applicant to provide details about outdoor heating for events during the winter months to remain consistent with what the board has requested of similar applicants in the past, he said. Board members were otherwise supportive of the enhancement.

The board granted another favorable recommendation for a 50-foot temporary wireless facility in Wrightsville Beach Park, but with some debate over the tower’s location and under the condition that carrier Sprint eventually come up with a more long-term solution.

The tower would be a temporary facility, wheeled into the park on a trailer and secured until September. During an April 6 phone interview, Claudine Vipperman, representing applicant Sprint/Ericsson, said a fence around the base would contain and camouflage the facility.

She said studies done by engineers had determined during the busy summer months, Sprint customers in Wrightsville Beach experienced blocked calls because of high usage. She said similar temporary towers have been installed in tourist cities like Miami, Savannah and Myrtle Beach.

The applicant requested the tower be set up near the soccer field in Wrightsville Beach Park because of its central location on the island and its separation from residential areas.

Director of planning and parks Tony Wilson spoke on behalf of planning staff, recommending a possible better location near the tennis courts. Board members were in favor of that option because they said the tower would blend in better when placed near the public works facilities.

The board of aldermen will have the final say on all permit requests during its April 8 meeting.

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