Swansboro News
Panels tackle change orders / Swansboro moratorium issues studied
Tideland News Writer
Swansboro officials are moving with a sense of purpose as they consider ordinance changes aimed at preserving the town’s character.
In the meantime, development in a large section of the town is on hold because of a building moratorium.
And, while Richard Banks, code enforcement officer, says the town will do what it takes to come up with rules that work, he and the advisory panels he leads are aware that property owners are waiting.
“I need to get it done in a timely manner,” he says.
Banks said the town’s historic preservation commission and planning board are working on proposals that would set limits on new and replacement structures in and around town’s Historic District. His goal is to provide a draft for town commissioners to consider in February.
When the commissioners enacted the one-year moratorium in August, they made two things clear: First, they wanted rules that would protect the town’s character and, second, they would keep the moratorium in place only long enough to come up with the rules.
From there, the task of revision fell on the two panels and town staff. Each has a distinct task, according to Banks.
The preservation committee is working on “appearance-type items,” he says. These include “character-defining” issues within the district and the surrounding area.
“We are looking at ways to maintain streetscape, (skyline), appearances … the details of how best to not end up allowing all buildings to be maxed out,” Banks explained.
Among the issues that will be addressed are the pitch of a roof, the number of stories and height limit.
“Everything will eventually be to the maximum you set,” Banks notes. “We don’t want every building being the same.”
The new process may include a “bull’s eye approach” for the historic preservation commission, whose task is to make sure that repairs and replacements are “congruous” to the district. To this point, that has meant that a new or replacement building could match the “hodge podge” of structures in the district. Some have chosen to match the largest buildings in mass and scale.
Banks referred to the renovation of a duplex on
A “bull’s eye” approach to mass and scale puts more emphasis on adjacent structures and structures close by in determining if a building size is appropriate.
“We don’t want to allow a building to overpower an area,” Banks said. “The historic board doesn’t want to allow everything to be maxed out. We’ve got to provide something in between.”
For its part, the planning board has been tasked with reviewing zoning uses, parking, setbacks and so forth, items that are more regulatory in nature, within the area of the moratorium.
For example, there are some business-1 uses that are not appropriate in the area under the moratorium, according to Banks. To provide more restrictions, the planners could end up suggesting an overlay district similar in nature to one that is in place along the town’s historic district waterfront.
“The board will look at uses that are appropriate for those areas,” Banks explained. “They’ve been charged to go through the list (of uses) and eliminate or add.
“I do know the list will be drastically reduced.”
The planners are also looking at water access requirements as a way to eliminate impediments to the proposed Dock Walk.
Banks hopes that ultimately the changes will protect the downtown character and promote business while keeping in mind the property owner’s desire to best utilize that property.
The third aspect of the work falls to the town’s staff, which is going through ordinances and historic district rules and policies to ensure there are no discrepancies.
With this effort, Swansboro has a chance to make sure that change, which is inevitable, does not come at the expense of the town’s character.
“This is a very key time … in the history of Swansboro,” Banks explained. “This is a golden opportunity. If we lose it now, we’ve lost it.”
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