Planning Board approves limited-access warehouse use with height and setback limits

The Currituck County Planning Board on Tuesday approved a text amendment to the county Unified Development Ordinance (case PB-25-11) that creates a new use category, "warehouse, storage and distribution — limited access," and places limits on vehicle types, daily trips and building size.

Staff described the proposal as a way to allow smaller, lower-impact storage operations in light and heavy industrial zones while removing the ordinance's existing 500-foot separation from residential zoning for this narrowly defined use. "The use shall be limited to straight trucks for deliveries and pickups and shall not exceed 20 trips per day," planning staff said during the hearing, adding that tractor-trailers and on-site manufacturing or hazardous-material storage would be prohibited under the new use.

The amendment is aimed at closing a gap in the UDO that currently allows large-scale warehouse and distribution operations in industrial zones without a size limit, staff said. The proposed use includes a 10,000-square-foot total floor-area cap, a prohibition on tractor-trailers and a prohibition on on-site manufacturing and hazardous-material storage. Definitions included in the amendment state that a "trip" is a one-way vehicle movement (so 20 trips equates to about 10 round-trips) and that "straight trucks" are self-contained cargo vehicles such as box trucks and pickup trucks.

Why it matters: The change would apply countywide and allows smaller storage operations to locate closer to residences than the older 500-foot zoning setback allowed for general storage and distribution uses. Planning staff stressed that other existing controls remain in force, including zoning district setbacks, required buffer yards between different zoning districts, and the county's existing buffer standards (type D buffer options include a 25-foot vegetated area or a 10-foot constrained option with a 6-foot opaque fence and required vegetation).

Applicant and local context: The applicant who spoke at the hearing said he intends to use the site for seasonal storage of beach rental equipment and related office space. "We intend to use a warehouse type storage facility for mainly for our off season storage," the applicant said, and added his planned building would be about 6,000 square feet, under the 10,000-square-foot cap. He told the board he had bought the former salvage-yard property on Westside Lane and cleared debris from the lot.

Questions from board members focused on how the new use would be measured and enforced, where industrial zoning currently exists in the county, building heights and required buffers. Staff noted the county's private enforcement approach: code enforcement responds to complaints, and potential noncompliance would trigger enforcement review. Staff also confirmed the amendment references the state definition of hazardous materials elsewhere in the ordinance for consistency.

Board action: A member moved and the board voted to conditionally approve PB-25-11 with two stated conditions: the use "shall not be located within 100 feet of a residential dwelling unit" and "buildings associated with the use in the heavy industrial district shall not exceed 35 feet in height." The motion included a recommendation statement tying the amendment to goals and policies in the Imagine Currituck 2040 vision plan and the UDO. The board approved the amendment by voice vote; individual roll-call votes were not recorded in the hearing transcript.

Key specifics recorded at the hearing: - Vehicle limit: straight trucks only; tractor-trailers/semi trucks prohibited. - Trip limit: 20 one-way trips per day (about 10 round trips). - Size limit: total floor area of associated buildings not to exceed 10,000 square feet. - Prohibited activities: on-site manufacturing; hazardous material storage. - Parking and traffic: parking standards remain flexible; staff may require reference to the county parking handbook and require a traffic-impact study when needed. - Buffers/setbacks: the specific 500-foot zoning district separation for general storage/distribution is removed for this limited use; existing zoning district buffer-yard requirements remain in place (including type D buffer options). - Enforcement: county code enforcement is complaint-driven.

The record contains discussion of several local industrial areas and examples of nearby properties, and staff noted that industrial zoning in Currituck County is limited and typically not directly adjacent to residential zoning. The Planning Board debated height and setback language during the hearing and inserted the 100-foot-from-dwelling and 35-foot-height conditions into the approval motion.

The board's recommendation was recorded as approved in the public meeting; the transcript does not list a formal roll-call tally. No formal action on site-specific permits was taken at the meeting; the amendment changes the ordinance text to allow the new use under the conditions the board adopted.