Town of Nags Head

Planning and Development Post Office Box 99 Telephone 252-441-7016

Department Nags Head, North Carolina 27959 FAX 252-441-4290

www.townofnagshead.net

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that the Board of Commissioners of the Town of Nags Head will conduct a PUBLIC HEARING in the Board Room of the Municipal Complex in Nags Head, North Carolina, on Wednesday, June 5, 2002 at 9:00 a.m.

The purpose of this PUBLIC HEARING is to consider proposed amendments to Section 22-251 Off-Street Parking and Loading Requirements, Section 22-302 R-1 Low Density Residential District, Section 22-303 R-2 Medium Density Residential District, Section 22-304 R-3 High Density Residential District, Section 22-305 CR Commercial Residential District, Section 307 C-2 General Commercial District, Section 22-308 C-4 Village Commercial District, and Section 22-351 SPD-20 Special Planned Development District of the Nags Head Code of Ordinances pertaining to parking requirements and lot coverage.

As a result of this hearing substantial changes may be made in the proposal as advertised to reflect objections, debate and discussion at the hearing.

A copy of the proposed document is on file in the office of the Town Clerk for public inspection during regular office hours.

The public is hereby urged to be present for the PUBLIC HEARING. Any person desiring to be heard on the proposal as stated above should appear at the time and place above specified.

This the 20th day of May 2002.

Carolyn F. Morris

Town Clerk

For publication in The Coastland Times, Thursday, May 23, 2002, and
Thursday, May 30, 2002.

Please use Nags Head logo and legal print.

Town of Nags Head

Planning and Development Post Office Box 99 Telephone 252-441-7016

Department Nags Head, North Carolina 27959 FAX 252-441-4290

www.townofnagshead.net

3

MEMORANDUM

TO: Board of Commissioners

FROM: Planning Board and Planning and Development Staff

DATE: May 29, 2002

SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING to consider proposed amendments to Section 22-251 Off-Street Parking and Loading Requirements, Section 22-302 R-1 Low Density Residential District, Section 22-303 R-2 Medium Density Residential District, Section 22-304 R-3 High Density Residential District, Section 22-305 CR Commercial Residential District, Section 307 C-2 General Commercial District, Section 22-308 C-4 Village Commercial District, and Section 22-351 SPD-20 Special Planned Development District of the Nags Head Code of Ordinances pertaining to parking requirements and lot coverage

At the February Board of Commissioners meeting numerous citizens expressed to the Board of Commissioners their concern regarding the parking standards adopted by the Town on January 3, 2002. As a result of those comments, the Town established a Parking Committee to review the newly adopted standards and to recommend changes to the parking provisions for single family and duplex houses. The Parking Committee was composed of Mayor Pro Tem George Farah, Chairman; Commissioner Brant Murray; Mr. Bob Oaks; Mr. Pogie Worsley; Ms. Megan Vaughan; and Mr. Robert Edwards.

The Parking Committee met on March 1, 19, and April 1, 2002. During those meetings numerous ideas were discussed which addressed the concerns expressed about the parking standards adopted by the Town on January 3, 2002.

At the April 1, 2002 Parking Committee meeting, the Committee reviewed several ordinance changes and recommended that those changes be forwarded to the Planning Board and Board of Commissioners for approval. The following represents the changes recommended by the Parking Committee.

Suggested changes:

  1. The number of required parking spaces for single family should be based upon the formula N-2, with N being the number of bedrooms determined by the septic permit.
  2. Lot coverage would be either 33 percent, or 30 percent plus 300 square feet, whichever is greater.
  3. There would be no stacking of cars in the drive aisle.
  4. In other areas, stacking would be allowed with a maximum of two cars per row.

5.  Require an improved turn-around (minimum 10’x10’) for all houses except those that are located on either Environmental Streets or Local Access Streets.

In the attached ordinance Section 22-251 was revised to reflect the comments (turnaround, stacking, and number of spaces) from the Committee. Other requirements from the January ordinance such as requiring parking spaces to be improved with a minimum size of ten feet by eighteen feet, drive aisle widths, use of gravel for residential spaces are retained in the attached ordinance. In the attached proposal staff also separated the parking requirements for single family and duplex (PART I) from the parking requirement for all other uses (PART II). In the current ordinance this section mixes the two uses and it can be confusing to follow at times. PART III amends section 22-251, Off Street Parking Requirements by establishing the N-2 concept. The N-2 concept is simply that the required number of improved parking spaces will be based on the approved number (per Health Department Permit) of bedrooms less two. Thus a seven-bedroom house would require 7 minus 2=5 parking spaces. The Parking Committee also recommended it leave in tact the ordinance section establishing the “non-rental Parking Deferral” Section 22-251 (b) 8 similar to the one adopted on January 3, 2002.

In a separate ordinance, lot coverages are proposed to be amended to reflect either a coverage of 30 percent plus 300 square feet or 33 percent, whichever is greater. Please note, the lot coverage for the Special Environmental District 80 (SED-80)-Nags Head Woods, remains as it is written now at 15 percent lot coverage. The minimum lot size in the SED-80 district is 80,000 square feet; thus an 80,000 square foot lot would be entitled to 12,000 square feet of coverage.

On April 1, 2002 the Parking Committee voted unanimously to recommend approval of the attached ordinances and requested that the proposal be forwarded to the Planning Board and Board of Commissioners for review and approval. The parking ordinances that were adopted in January are to become effective June 5, 2002.

Following the Parking Committee meeting on April 1, staff noted that the proposal did not specify a minimum number of parking spaces. The Parking Committee (Large Structure Committee) met on April 16, 2002 and the Committee discussed the need for a minimum and agreed that a two parking space minimum should be established in the ordinance. The current minimum is two parking spaces.

The Planning Board met on April 16 and voted four to three to recommend approval with the provision that the required driveway width be reduced from twelve feet to ten feet. It was pointed out by one member of the Planning Board that a twelve foot wide driveway may necessitate the change of a conventional septic system and drainfield to either a low pressure or peat system to accommodate the same number of bedrooms due to decreased land area available for septic disposal on narrow lots. The dissenting members felt that a twelve-foot wide driveway should be the minimum width required.

Planning and Development Staff Recommendation:

The Planning staff recommends approval with the provision for a twelve-foot wide drive aisle.

Planning Board Recommendation:

The Planning Board recommends approval with the provision for a ten-foot wide drive aisle.

BB

3

DRAFT #1; 4/1/2002; Staff

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES
OF THE TOWN OF NAGS HEAD, NORTH CAROLINA

BE IT ORDAINED by the Board of Commissioners of the Town of Nags Head, North Carolina, that the Code of Ordinances shall be amended as follows:

PART I. That Section 22-251 Off-Street Parking and Loading Requirements (b) be rewritten to read as follows:

(b)  Parking lot requirements for single-family and two-family (duplex) dwelling units. Permanent off-street parking spaces shall be provided in accordance with the following requirements prior to the completion of construction of any building or structure, or at the time any principal building or structure is enlarged or increased in capacity by adding dwelling units or before conversion from one (1) zoning use or occupancy to another

(1) Required off-street parking spaces and loading spaces are permanent areas and shall not be used for any other above ground purpose.

(2) Sufficient maneuvering space, not less than 10’ x 10’, shall be provided so that no vehicle will be required to back into the public right-of-way. Homes which front on environmental and local access streets, as defined and constructed in accordance with Chapter 17, Streets and Sidewalks, shall be exempt from this requirement.

(3)  Required parking spaces shall be graded and paved with asphalt, concrete, gravel, porous paving as approved by the town engineer or an open-face paving block over sand and filter-cloth base, provided the open-face paving block is equivalent to Turfstone™ with regards to compressive strength, density, absorption and durability.

(4)  Prior to issuance of a certificate of completion for the construction of any additional bedroom or bedrooms to an existing single-family or two-family dwelling, all required parking spaces shall be installed in accordance with Section 22-251.

(5)  All parking lot dimensions shall at a minimum conform to the tables below:

Single side parking / Double side parking
W - aisle width / 12.0 / 12.0
X - curb-to-curb / 30.0 / 48.0
Y - curb-to-aisle / 18.0 / 18.0
Z - minimum stall width / 10.0 / 10.0

See diagram below:

(6)  Drive aisles shall be a minimum twelve (12) feet in width and shall be improved. Stacking of vehicles in a drive aisle is prohibited.

(7)  Stacking of vehicles in areas other than a drive aisle shall be limited to two (2) vehicles per stacked lane.

(8)  Non-rental parking deferral. Installation of all required parking, except for two (2) improved parking spaces for single-family and four (4) improved parking spaces for two-family uses may be deferred provided:

(9)  The dwellings are occupied year-round and are not participating or listed in any rental and/or leasing program.

(10)  A valid survey shall be submitted designating an area on the lot in accordance with Section 22-251 (b) indicating the required number of parking spaces as determined by Section 22-251 (d) and approved by the Town.

PART II. That Section 22-251 Off-Street Parking and Loading Requirements (c) be rewritten to read as follows and each following subsection be renumbered accordingly:

(c) Parking lot requirements for all uses other than single-family and two-family (duplex) dwelling units. Permanent off-street parking spaces shall be provided in accordance with the following requirements prior to the completion of construction of any building or structure, or at the time any principal building or structure is enlarged or increased in capacity by adding dwelling units, hotel units, seats or gross floor area, or before conversion from one (1) zoning use or occupancy to another.

(1) Required off-street parking spaces and loading spaces are permanent areas and shall not be used for any other above ground purpose.

(2) Sufficient maneuvering space shall be provided so that no vehicle will be required to back into the public right-of-way.

(3) No parking spaces for multifamily use shall be located in the required front yard.

(4)  Required parking spaces shall be graded and paved with asphalt, concrete, porous paving as approved by the town engineer or an open-face paving block over sand and filter-cloth base, provided the open-face paving block is equivalent to Turfstone™ with regards to compressive strength, density, absorption and durability.

(5) All interior drive aisles, with the exception of drive aisles within the C-3 zoning district, and all parking lot entrances providing access to required parking spaces and loading spaces shall be graded and paved with asphalt or concrete. Interior drive aisles greater than fifty (50) feet from the right-of-way within the C-3 Zoning District may be graded and paved with porous paving as approved by the town engineer or an open-face paving block over sand and filter-cloth base, provided the open-face paving block is equivalent to TurfstoneTM with regards to compressive strength, density, absorption and durability.

(6) Street access and internal circulation. The street access and internal circulation plan of parking lots shall be approved by the town engineer.

(7) Markings. Each parking space shall be marked and maintained so as to be distinguishable.

(8) Lighting. All parking lots shall be lighted in accordance with Section 6.05 of this ordinance.

(9) Solid waste container requirements. Sufficient space shall be provided on the premises for the location of a solid waste container or containers as required by the ordinance of the Town of Nags Head which regulates the collection and disposal of trash and garbage [Chapter 15 of the Town Code]. Such solid waste container location may be in a required parking lot, provided, however, that such location does not occupy a required parking space or maneuvering space and further provided that such solid waste container location shall provide convenient and safe access to the servicing vehicle.

(10) Handicapped spaces. All parking lots shall meet the requirements of the North Carolina Building Code for handicapped parking.

(11) Off-street parking spaces required for any use shall be located landward of the greater of the following setback distances:

a. The applicable oceanfront setback line established under the Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) for small structures or for large structures; or

b. The Town of Nags Head oceanfront setback line, i.e., one hundred fifty (150) feet from mean high water.

(12) All parking lot dimensions shall conform to the tables below:

a. The designations “v” through “z,” as used in subsection b, c, and d, are defined as shown in the following illustration:

v = Angle of parking space (in degrees)

w = Aisle width (in feet)

x = Curb to curb width (in feet)

y = Curb to aisle (in feet)

z = Minimum stall width (in feet)

b. For one-way aisles, the various dimensions shall be as follows

v - / angle / 20° / 30° / 40° / 45° / 50° / 60° / 70°
w - / aisle width / 11.0 / 11.0 / 12.0 / 13.0 / 15.0 / 18.0 / 18.0
x - / curb-to-curb wt / 27.7 / 30.2 / 32.9 / 34.6 / 37.1 / 40.6 / 40.5
y - / curb-to-aisle wt / 16.7 / 19.2 / 20.9 / 21.6 / 22.1 / 22.6 / 22.3
z - / min stall wt / 10.0 / 10.0 / 10.0 / 10.0 / 10.0 / 10.0 / 10.0
For angles between those shown above the required dimensions shall be determined by interpolation.

c. For one-way aisles using zero-degree (parallel) parking spaces, the dimensions shall be as follows: