THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, July 7, 1994                 TAG: 9407070502
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: NAGS HEAD                          LENGTH: Short :   46 lines

NAGS HEAD TO ASK AIR BOAT OWNERS TO MUFFLE THEIR NOISE

The town of Nags Head will ask air boat owners in the community to voluntarily reduce noise pollution from the watercraft.

Town officials had talked to state and federal officials concerning possible remedies for air boat noise.

``Maybe the best thing for us to do is to talk to the individual owners and ask them to help in reducing noise,'' said Mayor Renee Cahoon.

Commissioner E. Wayne Gray, himself an air boat owner, said that equipping vehicles with mufflers will reduce noise to reasonable levels.

``If you have a muffler on a boat, once it gets on the cushion of water, you can barely hear them,'' said Gray.

In other action Wednesday, the commission approved two amendments to the town's zoning ordinances. The first, dealing with fire hydrant testing requirements, means that owners of non-combustible buildings (such as metal storage units) are not subject to testing.

The second amendment will require that bumper boats at local amusement areas be powered by four-cycle engines. The change came in the wake of concerns about exhausts from the two-cycle boats seeping into ground water.

The commission tabled action on a proposed subdivision plat located in the Village at Nags Head. Concerns over garbage disposal and utilities at the subdivision led to the action.

``We need to know a little bit more about what they're going to do about garbage and how they are going to install utilities.''

The subdivision is designed for 14 single-family units.

On other construction-related matters, the commission will interview two area architecture firms concerning the new municipal complex.

Hite of Greenville, and the Norfolk-based Pape, Cole and Associates, will be interviewed.

The council tabled action on a request by the Citizens Advisory Committee to place four anti-littering signs within the town limits.

Also, a member of the citizens' panel, Chuck Thompson, urged the commission to vote against Dare County's land use proposal that would expand the Dare County airport. by CNB