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Dare County Planning Board approved two agenda items at its July meeting.

On the agenda was a requested text amendment for the MC-2 (Marine Commercial) zone in Wanchese. Ricky Scarborough operates his business Scarborough Boatworks from 370 Harbor Road in Wanchese. Scarborough filed a text amendment request to raise the building height limit from 40 feet to 52 feet for boat building facilities in the MC-2 district.

The zoning district, MC-2, is considered a special use, subject to review and conditions.

During the public comment period, Lorraine Tillett with the Wanchese Preservation Alliance supported the boat building industry. She reminded the Planning Board members that when the zone was created in 2006 concern was expressed about boat building backing up to a residential neighborhood. Such concerns included painting and lights.

Noah Gillam, county planning director, explained in his memorandum to the board that since 2006 the demand for longer and taller boats has substantially increased. A taller building would allow boat builders to finish boats and make repairs inside.

The proposed amendment sets the maximum height at 52 feet measured from 8 feet North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) 1988, provided the following conditions are met:

1. Parcel of land must contain not less than one acre.
2. Separated by a minimum distance of 100 feet from a residential structure measured exterior wall to exterior wall.
3. No more than one structure on the parcel is allowed exceeding 40 feet.
4. Structures exceeding the building height limit must be separated by a distance of 300 feet measured from exterior wall to exterior wall.

Two land use plan policies apply to the application, one recognizing the cultural heritage in Dare County and the second recognizing boat building as a traditional industry and employment sector “consistent with our coastal heritage.”

The text amendment was found to be reasonable and consistent with the land use plan. The proposed text amendment will be forwarded to the Board of Commissioners.

The other agenda item was approval of a two-lot subdivision. Paul and Barbara Warnell requested that their 2.723 acre parcel off Lands End Way in Frisco be subdivided into two lots, each lot with an existing residential building.

The size of the existing property “exceeds the threshold for administrative approval,” states the subdivision factsheet. Hatteras Island attorney David Dixon represented the Warnells.

The subdivision was approved.

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