THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 6, 1995 TAG: 9502060045
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
Today is D-Day in Currituck County.
The Board of Commissioners is expected to decide the fate of several residential developments that have drawn sharp public criticism since they were introduced in the fall.
At the same 7 p.m. meeting at the county courthouse, the public is invited to comment on several changes that could dramatically affect future development in this sprawling locality.
Commissioners are scheduled to take action on the following sketch plans:
Dove Roost, a 48-lot development off Puddin' Ridge Road in Moyock.
The Plantations, a 601-lot common open space subdivision on Survey Road in Moyock.
The Currituck Club, a planned unit development in Corolla that would include 476 single-family lots, 104 golf course villas, 56 patio homes, a 100-room hotel, two commercial areas and four employee housing units.
Boca Point, a 30-lot subdivision off Backwoods Road in Moyock.
Dozier Acres, a housing complex with 111 lots along Dozier and Tulls Creek roads in the Crawford Township.
All these projects have come under fire during public hearings because of the impact they would have on county facilities and services or on a neighboring community's lifestyle.
The Currituck County planning staff has recommended denying the plans for all but one development because of the county's current inability to provide classroom space for more schoolchildren.
The exception is The Currituck Club on the Outer Banks, where a continuance is suggested until an access issue is resolved, said H.B. Briggs, chief planner for Currituck County.
The county staff has based its denials on a recent regulation, the adequate-facilities ordinance. It says the county must be able to support new developments as they come on-line.
In the southern and northern ends of the largely rural county, growth is rampant and has led to overcrowded or near-capacity schools and strained emergency medical services, among other things.
In a letter sent Friday to commissioners, James H. Ferebee Jr., developer of Dove Roost, said he would withdraw his application until Sept. 15, or sooner, while the county works toward alleviating crowded conditions at most of its schools, Briggs said.
Residents that would be affected by new neighborhoods also have publicly expressed worries over poor drainage, wastewater treatment plant odors, increased traffic congestion and road deterioration that an influx of new houses may cause.
In a related matter, a public hearing is scheduled during the evening for several proposals that also could reshape development in Currituck County.
The requested amendment to the county's unified development ordinance would increase lot sizes in agricultural zoning districts - which make up most of the county - to three acres.
A 40,000-square-foot minimum would be required in all other zoning districts except R01 and R02 on the Outer Banks.
Residential 01 lots already must be at least 40,000 square feet, and residential 02 lots require a 120,000-square-foot minimum, Briggs said.
The proposed change also would delete multifamily dwellings in agricultural districts, increase minimum lot width on new streets from 100 to 125 feet, require impact statements for subdivisions of 20 lots or more and require certain amenities for new subdivisions.
Another aspect of the request would establish an expiration date for subdivision plats approved before April 1989, but where no work has begun.
Roughly 800 lots would be affected by this provision, said Jack Simoneau, the county's planning and inspections director.
Other public hearings Monday night include a special-use permit from Barnhill Contracting Co. for a sand-mining operation on about 24 acres on North Currituck Road.
Public comment also is sought on rezoning 5.63 acres from mixed residential and light business to general business at the intersection of N.C. 168 and North Currituck Road.
In addition, a hearing is scheduled for a request to have all sketch plans submitted first to the county's planning board for review before being forwarded to the Board of Commissioners.
KEYWORDS: CURRITUCK COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS by CNB