If a catastrophic hurricane were to hit Wrightsville Beach, almost none of the current buildings in the town’s downtown district would be eligible for rebuilding because their lot sizes don’t meet town requirements instated after the structures were built.
During a June 2 meeting, the Wrightsville Beach Planning Board started the process of reevaluating those lot size requirements and related town code to give those property owners some leverage for expansion or reconstruction.
Town ordinances currently require conditional use businesses, like restaurants, motels and bars, to be built on a lot with a minimum width and depth of 100 feet. Director of planning and parks Tony Wilson suggested the requirement was put in place to allow space for parking.
Because many of the lots are considerably smaller, those businesses would have to seek a variance or text amendment from town boards to undergo any changes. Board members seemed in favor of developing new lot size requirements. Wilson told them he and town staff could look at the existing lot sizes and come up with a new requirement that would accommodate as many of those lots as possible.
The planning board also addressed other town regulations possibly stunting development, like minimum lot area, density limitations, parking requirements and setback requirements. They also briefly brought up the town’s height limit but agreed not to revisit the issue unless they had to.
“We studied the height for a year an a half, almost two years, and got almost no support from the owners of the businesses to go over 50 feet,” Wilson said.
As far as setback rules, Wilson recommended the board instate a 10- or 15-foot setback at the front of downtown lots, giving the district a more open atmosphere. Shop owners could use that space for outdoor seating, landscaping or displaying goods, he said.
Vice chairman Ace Cofer said he was more concerned with the rear setbacks for commercial lots that abut residential lots.
Wilson agreed, saying even a 5-foot setback might mitigate noise complaints the town occasionally received from some of those residents.
While board members were open to instating changes, they felt the task of redoing ordinances for all of the town’s commercial districts required the help of an expert. They voted to recommend the board of aldermen hire a consulting company to provide guidance during the process of devising a new comprehensive plan.
email [email protected]
