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A new campground submitted by Lower Skyco LLC is slated for development.

The Dare County Planning Board approved the 120-unit campground on 415 acres with Hwy. 345 to the east and Pamlico Sound to the west.

Campground X, the working name for the new development, features 60 travel trailer sites close to the highway and 50 cabins, all of which are elevated to reduce disruption to vegetation and spaced 30 feet apart. Ten decked tent sites are included. Wooden walkways connect areas.

The land has 26.34 acres of upland, 248.94 acres of coastal and freshwater wetlands and two ponds totaling 24.31 acres, which are naturalized former sand mines. The site has access to soundside beachfront.

John M. Robbins III, a member of Lower Skyco LLC, represented the applicant at the Oct. 11 planning board meeting.

Campgrounds are a permitted use in the Highway 345 zoning district. State permits are not in hand. The applicant has 12 months from the date all permits are received to finish installing infrastructure. An additional 12 months can be granted.

A commercial approval sheet indicates that before occupancy is approved construction of roads, parking areas, five restroom structures, site pads for trailers, a check-in facility, wastewater system and waterline improvements must be finished.

Support facilities such as employee housing, retail store, pool and multi-purpose building and clubhouse can be built at a later time, though the developer intends for these facilities to be part of the infrastructure package.

Camping cabins are not to exceed 600 square feet with half of that enclosed. The park retains ownership of camping spaces and cabins. The occupancy limit for a travel trailer, cabin or other camping units is 90 days.

The owner is required to develop a storm response plan and is responsible for removal and disposal of damaged travel trailers.

OT Enterprises is proposing to tear down the vacant and not-used movie theater in Hatteras Island Plaza and build back multi-family units. To accomplish this, text amendments have been submitted for the C-2 and R3 zoning districts. Hatteras Island Plaza was permitted and constructed before use specific zoning was applied in Avon.

The proposal recommended by the Planning Board to the commissioners adds a dwelling density bonus of 10 additional units per acre to the 10 already permitted for the R-3 district for a group development existing Oct. 20, 1992 and served by a community sewage treatment and disposal system.

For the C-2 district, the recommended text amendment speaks to redevelopment of a commercial group development by requiring a 7% reduction in existing lot coverage and a dwelling density of 20 units per acre.

Richard Fertig is seeking a text amendment to address virtual services in the hotel and motel industry. The current definition was adopted in 2002. The word “virtual” is added in front of facilities and management and reception and off-site in front of cleaning services, for the definition of hotel.

In addition, the following sentence was proposed by planning director Donna Creef: “Any structure constructed according to the North Carolina Residential Building code is not considered a hotel” (motel).

For a motel, the word virtual is inserted in front of management and reception and off-site in front of cleaning services. Creef’s proposed sentence is also included.

The updated definitions are recommended by the Planning Board to the Dare County Board of Commissioners.

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