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TOPSAIL BEACH — The city of Topsail Beach is weighing its options for changing its land development ordinance. If approved, new “conditional zoning” would attach certain conditions to proposed projects, allowing more flexibility for future development.
“It more or less allows for a process of legal negotiation between the applicant and the city,” Local Government Services Director Wes McLeod told Topsail commissioners at a meeting last Wednesday.
McLeod provides planning and zoning technical assistance to the city through a service agreement with the Cape Fear Council of Governments. He told the Planning Board in June that one of the main benefits of conditional zoning is that it allows for public input, which does not require a special use permit, for example. It also authorizes the city to define requirements based on comments and concerns expressed.
The possible change to the city’s ordinance comes at the request of Todd Olson, a law firm partnering with Ward & Smith PA Olson.
Olson is the CEO and founder of Raleigh startup Pendo, a software development company. Billion dollar technology center It opened in North Carolina in 2013 and now has locations in New York City, San Francisco, Israel, England, Tokyo and Australia.
Ward and Smith’s attorney, Clifford Parsons, confirmed that Olson has an “intent” with his request to increase the conditional zoning, but would not tell the board what that is at this time. He also said that if the amendment is approved, it will apply to the entire community and any applicant will be ready to use it.
At the June Planning Board meeting, Lichter twice requested Olson’s agenda to propose this change. “If you hired Todd Olson and you were working with the city to put this in, is there no suggestion of a different process for this?” she asked the parson.
Parsons explained that he had approached the city with the request and that staff had proposed an ordinance.
“They put the burden on us as Todd’s lawyers to provide the goods, but this is not a property-based question,” he said.
Parsons described the process as a “team effort” that allows the city to work directly with the developer to ensure a project is acceptable to the community and the city’s standards. It also applies only to a specific location, not the entire zoning.
On June 22, the Planning Board voted 3-1 to recommend the change to commissioners (Chair Kathy Lichter dissenting). Litcher expressed concern about burdening “small” town employees with another application process and wants community input on the proposed change before making a recommendation.
Stephanie Moore, City of Topsail’s planner and code enforcement officer, said there will be no exceptions to the special use permit, and staff can handle the requests.
Planning Board Vice Chairman Randy Lisberg was open to the idea of conditional zoning: “People should have options.”
The Board of Commissioners held public hearings Wednesday, but no community members spoke or objected. Also, no vote was taken by the commissioners, who all seemed to support the idea.
Both McLeod and Parsons compared conditional zoning to a specific use permit, noting the differences between the two. A conditional zoning application goes through the legislative process and allows for public comment. Special use permits require a quasi-judicial hearing by the highly regulated Board of Commissioners. The City is legally required to approve any request that can show proof of why it is needed.
Approval of conditional zoning allows the applicant to apply non-traditional standards that provide flexibility in density and site scale requirements.
McLeod calls it “creative development.”
Moore explained that all conditional zoning applications are approved at the discretion of the Board of Commissioners. They are not obligated to sign any request.
Many neighboring cities and counties are already considering this inclusion — such as North Topsail Beach, Surf City, Pender County and Wilmington — which is the first to be considered in Topsail.
Jennifer Dandron, spokeswoman for the city of Wilmington, explained that conditional districts are important to the city “because some land uses can have a significant impact on the surrounding area (as well as the entire community) that cannot be predetermined and controlled at the general district level.”
For example, Wilmington on June 7 approved conditional zoning for a 72-unit multifamily affordable housing development on Mid-Sound Loop Road. A cluster of affordable housing in one area was “premeditated” by the citywide plan, where the demand for affordable housing outweighed the concerns.
City of Wilmington staff imposed several conditions on the property prior to approval, including installation of a 5-foot sidewalk, a tenant age limit of 55 years and older, preservation of protected trees and certain final approvals and walk-throughs from the city before completion. .
McLeod noted that there are some restrictions on conditional zoning in Topsail.
If conditional zoning is requested in a residential district, the proposal must contain at least 25 acres. “So, people aren’t just coming to register on single-family, small lots,” he said.
The 25-acre minimum does not apply to commercial properties in Topsail, which allows for different requirements.
“It’s not the easiest tool, but the local governments that put it in place have found it very successful,” McLeod said. “It results in a project that you reject or enjoy. The goal is to find a fair solution.
The city of North Tosail Beach recently adopted conditional zoning units, and the planning board recommended approval of the first zoning on June 9. Property owners on Island Drive requested rezoning from R-20 (single-family, low density) to R-15 (single-family and duplex development allowed) but with conditional zoning. They asked for an R-15 district, but only to keep the area single-family to maintain its “integrity” and also allow for larger property lots than needed.
However, some amendments have been requested for the proposed amendment to the text.
As part of the conditional zoning, an applicant must hold a public input meeting before submitting a proposal to the Planning Board. City staff had proposed giving the public 10 days’ notice of such meetings, but Commissioner Frank Braxton asked to extend the request to 30 days. Other commissioners agreed that Topsail has a large population of out-of-towners and second-home owners.
The extended period allows for sufficient advanced notice in the city for anyone in favor of or against the development.
The Board of Commissioners may include a vote on conditional zoning at its Sept. 14 meeting, “if they feel ready after further discussion on the topic,” confirmed Deputy City Clerk Rochelle Jagst.
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