Existing Land Use and Classification Map-1981

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Existing Land Use and Classification
The Town of Wrightsville Beach,, N.C.
Existing Land Use
Residential
Commercial
Governmental
Land Classification
I I Developed
Conservation
ap for
Undeveloped/Transition
Black and white historical photography was provided courtesy of
The New Hanover County Museum.
This report was financed in part with a grant from the
U.S. Department of Commerce and the N.C. Department of
Natural Resources and Community Development.
The Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen
Robert Sawyer, Mayor
Francis Russ
Eugene Floyd
Roger Hill
Corneille Sineath
The Wrightsville Beach Planning Board
Harold King, Chairman
Technical Assistance
John Nesbitt, Director of Public Works
Hugh Perry, Town Clerk
John H. Hooton & Associates, Planning Consultant
J. Blow, Photographic Consultant
Dennis M. Walsak, Graphics
LUT OF TOWNS EXTRATERRITORIAL AMISDICTION � �•

Introduction N
North Carolina's coast has been
historically related to the growth and
development of all of eastern North
Carolina and the entire state. The first
European settlement in North Carolina
was located on one of North Carolina's
coastal islands, and from the colonial ,
period on, the coastal sounds and rivers
served as ports of entry and major routes
of commerce. However, as transportation
routes moved inland so did economic
centers and the coastal regions began to
lag in development. The past two decades
have marked the beginning of a dramatic
reversal of this trend. Such factors as
tourism, second -home development,
competition for energy and natural
resources, and retirement populations
have contributed to a constantly
increasing demand for coastal land and
resources. Recent census data indicates
that more than one-half the nations
population is within 50 miles of the shore.
Wrightsville Beach is no exception to this
fact since it serves not only as a local
recreational source, but also is within a
halfdays drive of the entire Piedmont
crescent from Raleigh to Charlotte. This
emerging trend led both the State of North
Carolina and the Federal government to
conclude that if the vast economic and
natural resources represented in the coast
were to be managed wisely, new
institutional frameworks were needed.
This realization led directly to the
development of a new area of public
policy known generally as coastal
planning. Coastal planning Is most visibly
and concretely articulated at the Federal
level by the Coastal Zone Management
Act of 1972 and at the State level by the
North Carolina Coastal Area Management
Act of 1974.
Legislative Initiatives
The major objective of the Federal Act
was to encourage coastal states to
develop management programs to guide
the public and private use of coastal lands
and waters. This encouragement is
primarily in the form of funding for
development of these programs. The U.S.
Department of Commerce's Office of
Coastal Zone Management administers
the program at the federal level. State
programs are to be carried out in two
phases - one, development of the
management programs, and, two, actual
management in the sense of
administrative and regulatory procedures.
North Carolina's coastal program,
contained mostly in the Coastal Area
Management Act, is now in phase two.
The origins of the North Carolina Coastal
Area Management Act (CAMA) began in
1969 when the General Assembly passed
legislation restricting dredging or filling in
marshlands. During this session, the
General Assembly directed that a study be
made of the need for a comprehensive
plan for the conservation and
development of the State's coastal
resources. The product of this study was
CAMA which was introduced in 1973 and
ratified, after considerable amendment
and debate, in 1974. CAMA's unique
feature is that it is a joint undertaking
between state and local interests. Local
governments have the authority for land
use planning while the responsibility for
defining Area's of Environmental Concern
is given to the state. Regulation within the
Area's of Environmental Concern (AEC's) ,
is a joint state -local effort. Each local
government within the 20 county coastal
area is required to prepare a land use plan,
and update it every five years, under
guidelines prepared by the Coastal
Resources Commission, a 15 member
policy -making body established to
administer CAMA. After adoption of the
plan by the local government and approval
by the Commission, development within
an Area of Environmental Concern must
be consistent with the local plan.
Planning and Development
at Wrightsville Beach
- Past and Present
Development at Wrightsville Beach has
been a result of two related factors -
population growth in the surrounding area
and access. Prior to 1888 access to the
beach was by boat and few facilities were
available. The only structure was a small
bath house constructed in 1853, later to
become the Carolina Yacht Club. In 1888,
the Wilmington Sea Coast Railway
constructed a trestle to Harbor Island,
then known as the Hammocks. At the
same time a footbridge was built from
Harbor Island to Hanover Banks, as the
beach island was then called. By 1897 fifty
houses and several hotels (Oceanic and
the Seashore) had been constructed. Two
years later the beach island was
incorporated as the Town of Wrightsville
Beach. In 1902, the railroad lines were
extended across Banks Channel and
south with stations numbered one through
seven. Station One is now the site of a
development bearing that name. Station
Seven was the site of the famous Lumina
PaviIIion. In 1926 the Shore Acres
Company, the original developer of Harbor
Island, bulkheaded and filled much of
Harbor Island and simultaneously
constructed a causeway from the
mainland. This development provided
easy access by automobile to Harbor
Island for the first time, and in 1934 the
State purchased the causeway and
extended it to the beach. This marked the
turning point in the development of the
beach as both construction and visitors
began to increase rapidly. In 1964 Harbor
Island was annexed and in 1976 the Town
extended its planning jurisdiction overall
areas east of the Intracoastal Waterway
from Mason's Inlet to one mile north of its
present Town limits.
Wrightsville's first attempt at formal town
planning began in 1972 with the
preparation of a land use plan. This plan
was developed partly in response to a
current building boom which resulted in
the construction of three high rise
condominium structures. The Town
zoning ordinance was amended to
prohibit structures over forty feet in height,
but single-family development and low
rise condominium construction has
continued at a strong pace with the
exception of a brief down turn in 1975-
1976. The 1972 land use plan was revised
to comply with the CAMA regulations in
1976 and the current plan, summarized
here, is a product of the requirement for
updating every five years.
Wrightsville Beach and the
Coastal Area Management Act
Land use planning is usually considered a
process in which governments identify
problems, develop alternative solutions,
and establish policies that will guide it
toward one or more solutions. While the
Wrightsville Beach land use plan closely
follows this process, the CAMA guidelines
require attention to additional areas. The
most important of these is the Areas of
Environmental Concern. The land use plan
must define acceptable land uses that will
be permitted within these areas. Other
plan requirements are a citizen
participating program, data collection and
analysis, policy development and
mapping of existing and future land uses.
The following paragraphs provide a brief
summary of each of these requirements.
Citizen Participation
One of the most fundamental objectives
of democratic practice is to insure that
public policies correspond with the needs
and preferences of affected citizens.
Because of the great sensitivity to land
use governance, public participation
programs must be responsive to the
individual property owner as well as
special interest groups and the general
public. As one method of accomplishing
this objective, the Town hand delivered a
citizen opinion survey to all households
and of the 1300 distributed, 23 percent
were returned.
' Pier Fishing, Wrightsville Beach
The Landing
The North Carolina Coastal
Area Management Act
Part One - Organization and Goals
This part sets out goals of the act, defines
terms, and establishes the Coastal
Resources Commission and the Coastal
Resources Advisory Council. The Advisory
Council is a 47 member advisory group
that provides technical assistance to the
CRC. Briefly, the goals of CAMA are as
follows:
(1) To provide a management system
capable of preserving and managing
the natural ecological conditions of
,the estuarine and barrier dune system
and beaches;
(2) To insure that the development or
preservation of coastal lands and
waters is consistent with their
capability to absorb change;
(3) To insure the orderly and balanced use
and preservation of coastal resources
on behalf of the state and nation;
(4) To establish planning policies avid
guidelines for the use and
development of coastal lands and
waters.
Part Two - Planning Processes
This part requires the CRC to prepare and
adopt guidelines for the preparation of
land use plans, which plans will then serve
as guides for the issuance or denial of
development permits within AEC's.
Part Three - Areas of
Environmental Concern
Part Three requires the CRC to designate
AEC's and establish standards for the
land uses which may occur within these
areas. These standards will be used in
conjunction with the land use plans to
determine whether or not development
will be permitted in an AEC. AEC's fall
within one of the following four
categories --Estuarine System, Ocean
Hazard Area, Public Water Supplies, and
Fragile Coastal Natural and Cultural
Resource Areas.
Part Four - Permit
Letting and Enforcement
This final part of CAMA establishes the
administrative procedures for
enforcement. Since March 1,1978, no
development is permitted within an Area
of Environmental Concern without a
permits: Local governments may assume
authority for permit letting in AEC's for
minor developments, but permit letting
authority for major developments is
reserved to the CRC.
Station One - Early 1900's
Land Use and Population
Wrightsville's population for planning
purposes is far greater than the estimated
permanent 1980 population of
approximately 3,000 persons. Overnight
visitors, including summer residents, and
day visitors can push the number of
persons at the beach to over 25,000. Water
and sewer facilities must be designed to
accommodate these peak populations,
and police protection and garbage
collection must be greatly increased
during summer months. Transportation
systems, including streets, parking, and
beach access areas, become vastly more
crowded, as do recreational areas. All of
this population must be accommodated
within the Town's 1,488 acres of land and
water, however, more than half of this
acreage consists of water and wetlands
thus pushing densities even higher in the
urban area. The majority of the Town's 515
acres of developed area is in residential
use with 200 acres, or 39% used for this
purpose. Less than 6% is in commercial
uses and 21 % is undeveloped. Although
there are nearly 1,500 acres of land and
water within the Town's corporate limits,
this accounts for only 40 percent of the
total acreage within the Town's planning
jurisdiction. The remaining 60 percent lies
outside the corporate limits, but within the
Town's extraterritorial jurisdiction. Almost
all of this area consists of water, marshes
and spoil islands. Changes in land use
categories since the 1975 survey have
been mostly in the residential and
commercial categories, with 15 acres of
undeveloped land converted to residential
use and 5 acres to commercial use. This
indicates a gradual conversion of
undeveloped lands to residential
purposes. If the past average annual
increase of 140 persons yearly continues
until 1990, the Town's permanent
population would increase to about
4,500.
The majority of this projected population
increase can be accommodated on the
remaining 250 vacant building lots. The
remainder will probably be
accommodated through rentals and
conversion of summer residences to
permanent residences. Thus, if existing
zoning and past rates of increase remain
unchanged for the next 10 years,
Wrightsville will be essentially "built -out"
at that time.
0
Lumina Pavilion - Early 1900's
Issues and Policies
As an urbanized barrier island, Town
officials are constantly confronted with
competing demands from individuals and
government agencies at all levels for use
of the Town's land and water resources.
Such issues as erosion, the location and
type of new development, beach access
and parking, and service and tax levels
arise because Wrightsville serves not only
as a permanent home for residents but a
recreational outlet for local and regional
populations. Because of the diversity of
issues, and certainly of opinions, general
policies are necessary to establish some
base for discussion and resolution of
these issues. But these policies,
formulated under the Coastal Area
Management Act, must also recognize the
Town's responsibility as a steward of
valuable natural resources with greater
than local significance.
Public Participation
In a typical beach community, such as
Wrightsville, the affected public may
include resident property owners, renters,
or non-resident property owners. While
each group has certain participation
rights, the Town must decide what it's
priorities are with regard to each group.
POLICY -To assure full rights of
participation in Town decision making to
all interested citizens but to provide first
responsibility to permanent residents.
Natural Resources
Almost 87 percent of the total land and
water within Wrightsville's jurisdiction
falls within an Area of Environmental
Concern. The major issues presented are
whether AEC regulations may restrict land
uses of importance to the entire Town, but
also if the restrictions are adequate to
protect these areas.
ESTUARINE SYSTEM POLICY -To give
high priority to the protection of the
estuarine system so as to safeguard its
biological, economic and esthetic values,
and, further to insure that any
development is compatible with the
natural characteristics of the system.
OCEAN HAZARD AND EROSION
CONTROL To the maximum extent
feasible, land uses shall be located and
constructed to provide the greatest
possible protection from storms and to
minimize damage to dunes or their
vegetation. The newly created dunes shall
be aligned with existing dune ridges and
constructed in such a manner as to
minimize damage to vegetation. The Dune
Maintenance and Protection Plan for the
Town shall be implemented to the
greatest extent possible.
View of Wrightsville Beach Today
a
Areas of Local Concern '
Spoil Islands - To provide the same degree
of protection to spoil islands as afforded
to the estuarine system.
Town Parks - To prohibit the use by any
private individual or public agency,
Federal or State, of any lands contiguous
to Town parklands that would in any way
Interfere with the recreational or esthetic
values in the adjoining park.
Development Policies
Development policies provide a general
guide to resolve basic land use issues
such as type, timing, location and density
of growth. Although not intended to
supersede zoning or building ordinances,
they should act as guides for
interpretation and help to shape the
pattern and character of the Town and its
environs. "
GENERAL DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE -
To adopt policies and ordinances and take
appropriate actions to promote the growth
and development of the Town as a
predominantly single-family residential
community with limited supporting retail
services and tourist oriented uses.
DEVELOPMENT TYPES - Types of
development should be consistent with
the Town zoning ordinance and preferred
commercial uses are those necessary to
provide limited retail and professional
services to tourists and permanent
residents. „
LOCATION - Commercial, multi -family, or
single-family attached developments shall
be located so as not to interfere with
surrounding residential uses. All new
development shall be located behind
existing or proposed building lines.
TIMING AND DENSITY -Timing of
development shall be consistent with the
capacity of the Town to provide water and
sewer services to new development, and
further, water and sewer facilities should
not be expanded to a capacity greater,
than that necessary to accommodate
projected permanent or peak populations.
Day Visitors on Their Way to Wrightsville Beach
Beach Preservation
and Erosion Control 1
Renourishment, supplemented by land
use controls, access planning and
vegetation maintenance, is the preferred
alternative for erosion control.
Since the beach is a resource used by
persons throughout the area and state, it
is the policy of the Town to allocate the
cost of its maintenance among the users
in equal proportions to the benefit
received.
The expenditure of public funds for dune
and berm protection must be
complemented by provision of public
access to the beach.
Beach Access
To provide reasonable means and
opportunity for the public access to the
beach and other public trust lands and
waters, provided the right of property
owners to the use and enjoyment of their
property is protected.
To provide additional parking at remote
parking lots served by transit facilities and
bikeways.' ,
To designate high, moderate and low
intensity use access points and provide
facilities appropriate to each in accord
with the Wrightsville Beach Access ,Plan.
Land Classification
The Land Classification Map is intended
to graphically describe the Town's natural
resource and development policies. It is
not a regulatory mechanism, such as a
zoning map, but should serve as a guide
and beginning point for discussion of
'development decisions. '
DEVELOPED This classification
recognizes the present developed state of
Wrightsville as primarily residential and
supporting tourist and commercial uses. It
allows existing uses and those
anticipated under current ordinances and
policies. However, it also describes the
development policy that current policies
and ordinances should not be altered if
the alteration would result in growth or
development that would be inconsistent
with the general development objective of
maintaining the Town as a single-family
residential beach.
Undeveloped - Transition
The first priority for lands in this
classification shall be for open space in
its existing state until acquisition for
public purposes. If this policy interferes
with the owner's right to the reasonable
use of his property then it shall be the
policy of the Town to allow single-family
ownership structures which permit a
minimum of developed area and a
maximum of open space for public uses.
CONSERVATION -This classification
implements the Natural Resource
Policies, protects AEC's and Areas of
Local Concern, and delineates areas
where public uses may take place.
Bathing on The Strand