Planning Board Talks Hurricanes & Hardship

They will meet again on February 25th of this year at 6:30pm (TODAY!) at the Ocracoke Fire House. They are hoping for community input at the this meeting, so please plan to attend. 

At their February 11th meeting, the planning board had old business (mostly to do with derelict vessels and harbor regulations) and new business (post-Dorian recovery) on the agenda. They also welcomed two new board members, Lena O'Neal and Heather Johnson. Also present were Steve Wilson (chair), Corky Pentz, and Ashley Harrell. Two other board members, Albert O'Neal and Garick Kalna, were not at the meeting. 

There was a lot of talking. It was a two-hours plus meeting. They had some things to discuss and discuss they did. They also solicited and allowed questions and input from their small audience.

One of those audience members was commissioner Tom Pahl, who explained the purpose of the planning board to the newbies. We can all use a refresher, so here goes:

"The planning board exists because of the Ocracoke Development Ordinance," he said. "The board's charge os to oversee the ODO, to interpret and clarify it. (But not to do variances; that's the board of adjustment's job.) If the ODO doesn't reflect the needs of the community, then the planning board can suggest changes to the ODO, which are then voted on by the board of commissioners."

Tom also came armed with handouts of proposed amendment to the ODO that he wrote, and also some excerpts from the existing ODO with handy diagrams to help explain it. Tom's proposal led to LOTS of talking, and was tabled until the next planning board meeting.

This is where you, dear reader, come in. The planning board would like to hear from you about the proposed changes. 

"We need to discuss the hurricane and the hardships it brought," said Stevie at the opening of the discussion. "We need to discuss possible changes to the ODO to help people after hurricanes."

One issue that Stevie raised is "freeboard" or the height of the subfloor of a structure from the ground. The ODO can increase the minimum freeboard. When the new FEMA flood maps get adopted in June, the island will have different official flood levels (right now, everywhere is the same: 6 feet. Hyde County adds 1 foot of freeboard so that new construction is a minimum of 7' above sea level.)

Hyde County manager Kris Noble explained that Ocracoke needs a local flood ordinance because "we don't want people to build below the historic flood level." That is to say, even though the new FEMA flood maps would allow us to build below Dorian flood levels, we really shouldn't. Strangely enough, the new FEMA flood maps show some parts of the island as less at risk for flooding than they used to be, which we all know empirically isn't true because of Dorian. But the new flood maps, which haven't even been adopted yet, were nonetheless developed by FEMA before the 2019 hurricane season. "It makes sense for the county to increase freeboard requirements," Kris said. On the plus side for the new FEMA maps is that many of us will find that our flood insurance premiums will decrease (flood insurance is tied directly to FEMA flood maps, not to actual flood claims.)

Kris also noted that for every foot a house is elevated above the floodplane, flood insurance decreases dramatically. 

So is there a downside to increasing the freeboard requirement? Not really, explained commissioner Tom Pahl, who is also a local contractor. "Increasing freeboard would only affect people raising their homes or building new," he said. "We could make the freeboard requirement 3 feet. It only costs about $2000 more to lift a house high enough to park under it. The downside is minor compared to the benefit."

Except when it comes to historic homes. (Full disclosure: I own an historic home that was flooded in Dorian, so I've got a dog in this fight.) Ocracoke Historic District features small homes that were historically built close to the ground. As new construction rose up and towered over them, they remained solid anchors to Ocracoke's past. The village's charm is due, in part, to these historic homes with their cedar shakes, picket fences, and old brick cisterns. Think: Howard Street. And then think again – already many of the old homes on Howard Street are being raised.  As these older homes get elevated, the look and feel of the village will change.

"We're gonna lose the old home community feel," Tom said. "We are just gonna lost that as a result of Dorian."

Stevie feels it's important for the board to tie freeboard requirements and height limits to each other. "We need to stay within the intent of the ODO and keep structures in like/kind," he said. Because of some convoluted wording in the ODO, the height limit math is more complicated than it need to be. The board agreed to consider changing the language to be more clear and consistent across the island. 

Stevie is also concerned that when people elevate their homes, they will build accessory structures underneath (sheds, garages) that could turn into extra bedrooms or even apartments when no one's looking. 

The biggest issue of the night was about travel trailers. 

Tom presented a proposed amendment to the ODO that would address the need for temporary travel trailers for housing while Ocracoke homeowners continue to rebuild. 

Hyde County has purchased 35 of these trailers to lend to homeowners for 18 months (extendable to 24 months). (At the time of the meeting, twenty homeowners had applied and been approved for a trailer on their own lot to tie in with existing septic, water, and power.)

First, the amendment would allow temporary trailers to violate the setback requirements so they could be set up close to a property line. This is intended to help out homeowners who want to put a travel trailer on their property until they get their house lifted/repaired. Temporary travel trailers will have to comply with water, septic, and electric requirements. 

Tom's proposal also allows for up to 3 travel trailers to be installed on one lot. Hyde County health inspector Hugh Watson has declared that a travel trailer counts as a 1 bedroom unit; a property with a typical 3-bedroom septic could have three trailers and comply with septic regulations. 

However, the Ocracoke Sanitary District which operates the water plant, allows 1 water impact unit per minimum 5000 square foot lot. The water board considers a travel trailer to use 1 whole impact unit, and would therefore limit the number of trailers on a lot to: one. 

David Tolson, who manages the water plant, and Ocracoke Sanitary District board member Scott Bradley attended the planning board meeting to provide comment. 

"Illegal travel trailers have been a big concern to the water plant," David said.

"As a board we are open to temporary considerations due to the hurricane recovery," Scott added. 

"My issue is with the density of three trailers on a lot," said Stevie. "I have reservations with increasing density. Employers will depend on it for workforce. We need more thought on the issue and more inout." 

There's nothing to prevent a property owner from installing one trailer on an empty lot, and the board agreed that waiving the setback rules for homeowners to put a trailer next to their house temporarily was a good idea given the situation. 

But the board was reluctant to make a decision that night, citing a need for further discussion with friends and neighbors (and feedback from people who come to the meetings -- that's you, dear reader!) 

"We need more public participation," Stevie said. He also suggested that perhaps Tom's amendment could have a sunset date, so it wasn't "a permanent fixture" of the ODO. 

Tom agreed that the density could be problematic, but suggested that the county should help the renters (most of whom comprise Ocracoke's workforce) as well as homeowners. 

"This crisis makes strange bedfellows," Tom said with a wry grin. "When I first got on the planning board I wanted to write an ordinance against travel trailers." Oh, the irony!  

The planning board passed two motions to recommend small changes to the ODO. The Hyde County Board of Commissioners will vote on those proposed changes at their next meeting on March 2nd. 

The first motion carried was to add "church steeples" to the short list of approved structures or appurtenances that are exempt from the maximum structure height limit. The other exemptions are chimneys, antennas, and weather instruments. 

This was an easy vote that needed little discussion at the meeting. Gary Davis and Nelson Adams attended as representatives of the Ocracoke United Methodist Church to ensure that the church can be elevated as planned. (At Wednesday's Civic Affairs meeting, Pastor Susie Fitch-Slater said, "We're moving up in the world and getting closer to heaven!")

The second recommendation is about "non-conforming structures." If your house was built before the ODO was enacted, it was grandfathered and doesn't have to conform to ODO regulations. (An example of this would be setback rules that say a house has to sit back at least 8' from the property line. Some historic homes are much closer to their property lines, and are allowed to stay there.) What happens when that non-conforming structure is damaged and has to be rebuilt? The ODO says a new structure can be built with the same footprint -- as long as it'd one within 6 months. Due to the extensive damage of Hurricane Dorian, especially on older homes, the board felt it could be a hardship to limit the rebuilding period to six months. They all agreed, and carried a motion, to recommend a change to 365 days.