In a brief February 19 Southern Shores Planning Board meeting, it was agreed that additional discussions on zoning text amendment 18-09 intended to except certain properties from the new nonconforming lots law should be put on hold until town staff can identify all the nonconforming lots in Southern Shores.

Included in the project will be a joint effort with town staff and Planning Board members to find who owns nonconforming lots and what the potential exemptions might be.

“Our first step is to determine how many there are and what the list looks like,” said Planning Board chair Elizabeth Morey. “Then we can work on drafting an ordinance that does not overly harm residents.”

In response to a question by Andy Ward, town planner Wes Haskett advised that the list will include all nonconforming lots, but staff would be looking at vacant lots first.

Haskett added that he hopes to have a list of properties to look at by the March 18 meeting.

A second discussion for the evening on high occupancy and large single-family dwellings was thwarted by a requirement an item have a 30 day period between filings and any board actions.

With the board’s most recent meeting on January 22 and additional paperwork issued February 15, there were not enough days between meetings and paperwork filings to allow discussion.

In the closing minutes of the meeting, Haskett advised that two applications for action by the Board of Adjustment are in the works, but that hearing dates have not been worked out yet.

The next scheduled Planning Board meeting at the Pitts Center is set for 5:30 p.m. on Monday, March 18. The meeting is open to the public.

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