Outer Banks municipal leaders oppose revamped bill they say would restrict local authority

By Corinne Saunders

Editor’s Note: Strong local journalism directly impacts your quality of life. You’re busy, and attempting to stay on top of all the important issues that affect you and your community can be taxing. We are here to stand watch for you, making sure you stay informed about what’s happening in our area, all while providing an advertisement-free, easy-on-the-eyes platform, for less than the cost of a bag of chips a month. Subscribe today.

Mayors of the six towns in Dare County co-signed a letter addressed to all the members of the North Carolina General Assembly “regarding S205 and similar bills,” sharing concerns over proposals they see as restricting local authority.

The mayors of Duck, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, Manteo, Nags Head and Southern Shores said in the letter that Senate Bill 205 (S205) contains many of the provisions of House Bill 765 and several other bills that prompted their previous letter of concern to the General Assembly in April.

The version of the bill that passed the Senate on April 8 and its first reading in the House on April 10 was a two-page bill with the short title, “Clarify Swimming Pool Laws/Priv. Pool Rentals.”

It is now a 19-page bill short-titled, “Swimming Pools/Housing Regulatory Reform,” following a House committee substitute on June 11.

“These proposals, H765, S205, and similar land use bills, remove local decision-making

authority and create one size fits all solutions for communities,” the mayors wrote in their Wednesday, June 18, letter, which was also shared with local media outlets.

They encouraged legislators to work with local governments on planning and zoning issues rather than to impose across-the-board regulations.

“Our planning and zoning authority has been the primary tool we use to shape our communities in a way that most closely represents what our citizens desire and what our visitors continue to come back for year after year,” they wrote.

The mayors sent their first joint letter of concern to state legislators on April 29.

“To reiterate what we said in our original letter, we are concerned about losing the

ability to establish minimum parking requirements or maintain minimum parking space

dimensions,” the mayors wrote in their June 18 letter.

They noted the many large vacation rentals in the area to which people drive, the lack of public parking and the difficulty accommodating all vacationers’ vehicles on the property even with local minimum parking standards.

“If vehicles cannot be accommodated within the property, this would create significant roadside parking problems and could interfere with the ability of first responders to access homes during emergencies,” they wrote.

They shared concerns over other aspects of S205, such as it creating “unrealistic timelines for permit reviews” and regulating units per acre, which they said could undermine locally established, larger minimum lot sizes to accommodate septic systems.

The mayors also noted that current local stormwater management rules in some cases require more stormwater retention than the state does.

“We continue to see an increase in the frequency of nuisance flooding events and have been working on a variety of stormwater solutions, including regulatory solutions,” their letter said. “We seek the ability to continue to manage stormwater, and other similar issues, at the

local level.”

Below is a copy of the June 18 letter the mayors of the six towns in Dare County jointly sent to all North Carolina legislators.

Dare County municipalities' June 2025 letter regarding S205 and similar bills.pdf

Download PDF • 419KB

Other state measures Outer Banks officials oppose

 

Last Tuesday, the Senate Agriculture, Energy and Environment Committee inserted into House Bill 442 an amendment banning shrimp trawling in inland waters such as the sounds and in the Atlantic Ocean within a half mile of shore.

This caused an explosion of concern from local elected officials, working watermen, many Outer Banks residents and the legislators representing the Outer Banks.

The amended bill cleared the Senate, with the two senators representing parts of the Outer Banks, Sen. Bobby Hanig (R-Currituck) and Sen. Norm Sanderson (R-Pamlico), finding themselves in the minority of the 41-4 second-reading vote last Wednesday.

The House is expected to vote on it this week. The bill did not appear on Tuesday’s calendar.

Rep. Ed Goodwin (R-Chowan) has voiced vehement opposition since the amendment’s introduction and held a 53-minute press conference Tuesday morning on the issue.

“I believe we did some good work today and hopefully changed the minds of House members and the general public,” Goodwin wrote on social media of his press conference.

Some Outer Banks officials also opposed a proposal in the Senate state budget bill to institute and to increase ferry tolls, which does not appear in the House version. A conference committee appointed from each chamber earlier this month is currently working through that bill.

A “down-zoning” provision many local officials strongly opposed, saying it removed a vital aspect of local zoning authority, became State Law 2024-57 in December with the votes of all four legislators representing parts of the Outer Banks.

Hanig told Outer Banks Insider in December he was “extremely confident” that down-zoning provision would be removed with legislation he planned to introduce in January.

Hanig introduced legislation on Jan. 29 that would have removed the provision for the 10 counties he represents— Bertie, Camden, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hertford, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans and Tyrrell—but that bill has been in committee since Jan. 30.

The down-zoning provision still stands as state law as of publication time.

--------

Editor’s Note: Did you appreciate Outer Banks Insider’s ad-free local news? This is our open-access article of the week, to provide a sample of what is available at our website. It takes significant time and effort to bring you trustworthy local reporting. Subscribe today at this link to access all our in-depth, exclusive reporting, and to support independent local news in the area you love.