Planning Board - Regular Meeting

Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.

for Steve. Danny Berry. um like to call the April 9th, 2026 surf city planning board meeting to order. We do have a revised agenda and I would like to get approval for that.

Motion. Yes. I'll make a motion to approve the revised agenda. Yes, I have a motion to approve the revised agenda. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Agenda is approved. Next, I need to get an approval of the February 12th, 2026 planning board meetings. Minutes approved. I'll make a motion to approve the minutes. Have a motion to approve the February 12th, 2026 planning board meeting minutes. Do I have a second? Second.

All in favor? I. Any opposed? Minutes are approved. Do I have anyone for public comment? Not see anyone signed up. Okay. All right. Um, next I would like to welcome our newest planning board member, Brian Moxy. We look forward to working with you and we're glad to have you. Thank you. So, now it is time to swear you in as a new member. All right. Why don't you want me down there? Yes. I'll hold the Bible for you get to choose. Can Kyle do it or Jeremy do it? Frankie,

there you go. Thanks, Frankie. I'm catch on fire. That means we can deliver. I state your name. I, Prime Moxy, do solemnly and sincerely swear do solemnly and sinc sincerely swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the state of North Carolina to the state of North Carolina and to the constitutional powers and to the constitutional powers

and authorities which are or may be and the con and the authorities which are or may be established for the government thereof. established for the government thereof. And that I will endeavor to support And I will endeavor to support maintain and defend maintain and defend the Constitution of that state. the Constitution of the State. Not inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States. Not inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States. To the best of my knowledge and ability. To the best of my knowledge and ability. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

HEY, BRIAN. NEXT ON the agenda is a presentation from Mayor Bance. Okay. So, this is um volunteer appreciation month and at our council meeting this week, we said a very sincere thank you and in front of you is a certificate of appreciation and it says, "In sincere appreciation of the service as a member of the planning board for the town of Surf City, your commitment and your contributions have played an important role in supporting the town's mission and enhancing the quality of life for our residents and visitors. Your willingness to serve exemplifies the spirit of civic engagement and public service. The town extends its gratitude for your efforts and your dedication to the betterment of our community. Thank you to David Ward. Do you have how many years David

where that you have volunteered for the town of Surf City? Since 1999. 1999. Michael Ellis. Brian Moxy, not that long. Steve Wheatley, three years. Three years. Steven Pascantonio, 15, 15 years. Greg Kane, a year and a half. And Frankie Williams,

three or four. And then Clint Bailey is not with us today, but he um will get sworn in at our next meeting. And not to leave out our chair while we're saving her for last, the best for last. Renee wrote, "How many years have you been a volunteer for Surf City?" There's a real guess, but I'm going to say maybe six. And we appreciate each and every month that you show up that you continue to look at the packets and be invested in the town of Surf City. It is it does not go unnoticed and we appreciate it very much. So, thank you very much.

Thank you. Next on the agenda um is items for consideration from this uh committee. We would like to have two volunteers to be members of our bike and pedestrian steering committee.

And I can add a little bit of background to that. As many of you know, we were awarded a grant through from the NC DOT's multimodal multimodal planning program in the um $60,000 grant to update our bicycle and pedestrian plan. We have not received the notice to proceed, but we have been assigned a consultant, Moffett and Nichols. Uh we have been provided a scope that has been assigned and adopted by DOT, and we are awaiting our notice to proceed. And once we have that notice to proceed uh within three weeks of that notice we will set up a meeting with the consultant and member and the newly formed bike and pad plan update steering committee. In looking that looking at that, talking with NC DOT, the town believes the best makeup of that would be two members from this board, two members from the multi-use path subcommittee, and then those additional appointed by city by town council. So, I put it in front of you this evening to potentially have two volunteers that would like to serve on that committee. We would have at least three meetings with our consultant and then a few public sessions to attend on that bike and ped update.

What's the difference in this and a multi-use?

So the the best way to explain is multi the multi-use path is a sub sub kind of of the bike. the multi-use path subcommittee's work and the multi-use path will be incorporated into our biking ped update. Um the bike and ped is the overall sidewalks and pedestrian bicycle paths throughout the town whereas the multi-use path is a particular feature and is in set in a particular path whereas the bike and ped covers all aspects. is the more comprehensive um pedestrian and bicycle plan whereas multi the multi-use path is a particular section so to speak which its own subsections to that so are you looking for volunteers I believe I'm the junior member of this committee so I don't want to I mean I've been a committee member for three minutes now so I'll do it if no one else I mean I don't want to step on anybody's toes again as with people seniority over me, but I ride my bike here relentlessly, so I'd be happy to serve on that.

Thank you. I don't know if that's how if I'm supposed to say I don't know the protocol here, so I'm cut I'm just butting in to say that. Okay, great. Thank you. Our joining on the committee need would Yes. Awesome. Right. I think I think you would ask for a motion for those two two members. Okay. So, can I have a motion to approve Brian Moxy and Greg Kaine as our members for the bike and pedestrian steering committee? I have a first second. Have a first and a second. All in favor? I.

Any opposed? Congratulations, gentlemen. Thank you. Yes. Um I'll be sending out some invites to our SharePoint for the biking pad. There's really nothing in there at this time. There's the scope. Um and we'll start you'll start getting more emails to crowd your ever crowded um technology that's forthcoming. So thank you. Would you like to take us into updates and reports?

Yes, ma'am. So I will say that I'm surprised to have a full board at a meeting where there was really no projects to approve, no site plans, no subdivisions, no reasonzonings, um no recommendations. And I really appreciate that. And this is more of a work session, a work plan update, where the planning board is, our initiatives this past year, and where we're going in the future. Uh currently for the 202526, um updates on our current initiatives. Um, as you recall, last December 2025, this board recommended updates to the comprehensive land use plan in regards to our job growth corridor policies and goals. We will, as a be taking that to the April work session to council for their consideration and discussion. Um, and then hopefully have it on a future agenda for adoption if there is no major adjustments. If not, we'll work through those adjustments and then if need be, it'll come back to this board for further consideration and then get that point get through that process until council was ready to adopt it. Uh that is an initiative out of our strategic plan and I applaud your efforts that last year on that. In your agenda is an updated goals and policy matrix matrix which is pulled from our lane use plan. It shows where we we are at with all those multiple goals and policies. Uh many are ongoing uh as they are identified in the project. Many have come to fruition. They've been finalized and there are few far between that have received no action. Um, this will be part of a presentation that the chairman and I give at the May work session for council's consideration as an update to

where we are at in implementation of our current comprehensive land use plan. That is an ongoing initiative that will be coming up every year as part of the strategic plan and the initiatives of this board. With that said, that is an update for the 202526 planning board initiatives. So now looking to the future 2026 and 27. At the recent budget session, community development staff presented to the town council a request to receive budgeting for an island town center downtown master plan. While the budget is still under development and moving forward, the initial thoughts is we will receive funding for that. It could be broken up in multi-year uh because we expect that a island town center downtown master plan would take upwards of 18 months to work with a consultant, do our due diligence, and work through that process. Um it's a very exciting project that this board will have a critical role in reviewing making recommendations. But from its onset, you will be part of recruiting the downtown business owners, downtown property owners to encourage them to participate in that process and identify members who would make um valued members of that steering committee of the Island Town Center downtown master plan. Um, we if we receive funding, we're hoping to send out requests for proposals early next fiscal year, late summer, early fall, and kick that process off as soon as we can. Um, I'm super excited of that. I try to contain my energy anytime

I talk about it. Um, town's it's been a goal for a long time for the town. Um, it's an exciting time. Uh we're talking about the bes bicycle pedestrian plan update, the multi-use path, uh the multi-use path projects that are being implemented. The timing couldn't be better um to dive into a downtown island town center master plan. Um, but this board's role in that will be helping identify members, being part of the master planning process, attending meetings, putting the word out, and then adding your input at critical points of that process, which I I don't know what those will be because we haven't hammered it down and work with a consultant to lay out a scope of work and a work plan on that. Um, but that's going to be upcoming over the next year if we get funding and I think we will. Um, just as we reported momentarily ago, another item for the 2627 work year will be another annual report on the comprehensive land use plan. The biggest change from there will be an updated matrix, but hopefully that update will also include our job growth corridor policies and goals that we are hopefully in implementing there and where we will be with those. Another new initiative this 25 26 27 year identified for the planning board is to evaluate the application of our tree preservation standards uh specifically for the island through the coastal forest overlay district. As many of you know that any property in the town of surf city that abuts ocean, coastal wetlands, coastal marshes is part of the coastal forest overlay district. And one of the heavy standards in that overlay district is tree preservation and tree mitigation of

trees removed. This board will have the task of evaluating what we do now. Is it enough? Should it be more? Is it too much? Should we do less in an effort to protect our valuable tree canopy on the island and waterfront properties? Um I'm also going to use this as an opportunity to look at our tree preservation that is for the mainland. Um that is different standards uh a little bit more relaxed but equally as important. Um protecting our existing tree canopy, bolstering the tree canopy is a necessary goal and initiative for this board and the town as a whole. Um I did provide in your agenda a document presented by the Katefare Council of Trees. It is what I would identify as the more regulating type you know the types of regulations you can have the the more stricter end of it but it's to give you ideas of what can be done what the professionals recommend should be done and how the town may incorporate some of those concepts um and I'll start sending out over the next few months more information like that to the board so you can start thinking about, you know, what we're doing. Um, we're going to outline our standard of operating procedure of how we enforce the CFOD standards through our daily processes and code enforcement.

Which document is that?

That is part that is um section 8.6 of the zoning ordinance. Um, and I'll send out a pulled out version of the coastal forest overlay to you um to the board so you have it. Yeah, I do not have a copy of the CFOD in this agenda, but I will send it out. Um, it's only it's 14 separate standards. It's an overlay district to any of those coastal properties. Um, it does more than just tree preservation. It's got impervious restrictions and the amount of fill that you can bring to a property as you develop it. Um and that's island island islandwide for surf city and again any of the properties on the mainland that abut coastal wet coastal waters or wetlands.

So town tops beach and north tops have different co cfod.

Yes if they have them at all they have different restrictions. So ours is from surf city line to topsul beach but that covers all the island. Um right now the heaviest divi heaviest work in the CFOD is handled with new single family. Um they're allowed to clear properties of the building footprint. Trees and the setbacks are protected by ordinance. If they have to remove a tree for whatever reason, they have to mitigate it and it's a pretty hefty mitigation. And um so far no issues on since I've been here. I can't speak to before. Um, but so far it's been we've had success in mitigation. Um,

I've always I've always wondered how uh the property I sold to those people, they clearcut the darn thing. How did they get away with that? What was that? You refer to accolade, right? Yeah, accolade. I'm I work on those individual properties. I will say that they the individual lots as a as a whole, they've done a very good job in the in terms since I've been with the town in terms of protecting the trees they have that they have to protect. It looks like they cleared before they sold before they parcled it off. Yeah, it was as thick as any.

I do know that they have a lot of trees planted on their common area and they are planting more as part of mitigation that we work with them on. Um the town holds shies for them and they are providing more mitigation as the further lots get developed but they do have a common area when you get to their clubhouse. Um they've done a very good job in terms of providing landscaping there and there's a lot of series of trees and before they're done it will probably be reforested at this point. right now with it being parcled up, a lot of the clearing comes down onto the new homeowner. And if there's anything on tree preservation uh just as on the mainland side or coastal forest overlay district that this board wants more information on, please ask and I will provide as I can. Um, with that said, the one final item is one thing we touched on prior, and that is the bicycle and pedestrian plan update. You've already made the first step of this board's commitment to that bike and pled update, and that's appointing two members to serve on the steering committee. This board still has a role in that bike and pad update because you will be the recommending board when the update is completed through working with the consultant and then it's ready to present to council. It will come through this board for a recommendation. Um this board is always welcome to attend any and every meeting that we have for the bike and ped even if you're not on the steering committee.

It'll just be the one final draft after all the steering committee and then the consult. We may go through multiple drafts. There'll be a public draft that gets reviewed that's available for review and um this board you'll have a planning board draft per se and I may bring it to you one month and you say hey we we see this this and this we'll go back work with the consultant tweak what we need to and then bring it back for a recommendation

present you this board will have a have a say so into that plan with that said there was one thing I wanted to add on and you know as as a planning board. You know, hopefully I'm introducing to you that you're not just a recommending body in terms of site plans, subdivisions, resonings. You as a planning board can identify, look in the zoning ordinance. In fact, you have the goal, the init the responsibility to look at our development ordinances, subdivision ordinance, zoning ordinance. Look at it here. the public if you if this board as a whole ever believes that there needs to be an amendment or changes to those ordinance or additions. You as an advisory board have have that responsibility and you can always suggest, hey, we would like to see this text amendment. We'd like to see this change to these ordinances. Staff will go back and work on it and then bring that draft back to you for consideration. That way you can make a recommendation to the town council. I just want you to know you have that ability as the planning board. With that said, I'll happy to entertain any questions on our goals and initiatives for the next year and where we go from here.

What's next up for us? We'll be back next month. We've It's going to be a busy summer. I'll tell you that. In terms of projects in the hopper, we got a a few reasonzonings and some site plans to bring in front of the board. Anything new coming into town? I did provide the uh development update, I believe, in the agenda. If I did not, I will email it out. Um if I did not, I apologize. Um, I did not see

I mean going on right now, I mean the the town's got several projects under construction. We've got the fire station expansion. Fire station 25, correct?

Yes. Um, the public utilities building on 210 is coming along. Every time you go by, there's something new. It's looking great. Um, Evolve on Highway 17 is is going hard at it. They there's they're about to go vertical as is Hampton in is working on their foundation um on Fund Center Drive. Those are the two major commercial projects. Uh staff is currently reviewing the Ketta Drive uh construction uh plan that is being designed by Capefir development comparment out of Wilmington. They are the developers of proximity. Uh since NC DOT will not be building Ketta, they are now as a condition of their approval required to design and build that as part of their project and we're currently reviewing that. Um other than that, I mean, we've got a lot of infill single family all throughout the island. You can there's every corner you turn there's new construction going on. So, and I'll I will apologize for not sharing that uh development um table that I usually have, but I'll have it out this time. I will

um we are currently working on a development tracker. It'll be a map that you'll be able to click on any of the items that pop up on the map. Click on it. Hey, it'll give you the name of the development, what they're doing. um our GIS technician Jordan is currently working on that on how to import the data from our permitting system. Um it is one of our departmental goals to have up and running uh this next year. Um I think it's something that'll be very good because we get questions all the time of what's being built here, what's coming here. Um and this will be a there'll be a commercial development tracker and a residential. You know, that way you don't have to call community development. Hey, my neighbor's building a deck. did they get a permit or you know what are they doing? You'll be able to click on that and know that they've gotten their permits or get an idea of what they're doing or they don't have a permit which is more often than I'd like to say. Um

Jeremy. Yes sir. In all seriousness is there any discussion with DOT about three laning Southshore Drive? I have not been part of any conversations. Can we initiate a conversation? I turn what I'm thinking about to help traffic flow. I can always bring up a comment like that to the RPO. That's the rural planning organization that is coordinated through the Capefir Council of Governments. That's who we're part of. Um they are the ones that help us, you know, recommend and design projects to make it to the state transportation improvement plan. We bring them up on Saturday.

Saturday. Oh. Um there are some inter interesting things going on soon. Um the town is going to be the first test of a temporary signal at the roundabout that will try to institute kind of a timing a light timing mechanism that will stop traffic coming from Southshore to let it come off the bridge and vice versa to set up a regulate to regulate that. It's using a temporary light that DOT has right now and they're working on the timing of that and that's actually going to go up sooner than later. It's early I think around May to and it's going to be tested for about a week. Um and there'll be a lot of notifications, you know, to let them know that there's going to be a change in traffic movement to see how that works. Um, there has been some the highway department out of the division 3 is looking at some changes to the roundabout on the island. Um, but there's nothing to report on that because they're still working on some of those. Um, but the effort is to move the pedestrian traffic away from the roundabout further down Southshore or North New River to get it get it away from the roundabout. It is looking more likely that we may be getting funding for some traffic signal uh pedestrian flashers. Um three, no, one on North New River and near North River and Roland. That'll be a flasher to let you know pedestrians are about to cross and then three on the crosswalks on Southshore. all on NC NC DOT roads fully funded. In fact, we are just had a letter signed off by the town manager to

send NCOD to proceed with preliminary engineering and construction design. Um those will be installed by NC DOT. Um I think that's a huge thing especially on the Southshore during busy days of movement. It'll give you that solar power flashers that would let you know that pedestrians are about to cross over. But if there I do encourage the board if you got anything you'd like to see on the agendas or additional information, don't hesitate to reach out to PL community development staff.

We have any further discussion? Do I have a motion to adjurnn the meeting? I'll make a motion to adjurnn. I have a first. Can I have a second? I'll second that. So, I have a first and a second to adjourn the meeting. It is adjourned.

Thank you. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.