Dare County tables proposed removal of Buxton Woods buffer, requests legal review

The Dare County Board of Commissioners on May 5 voted unanimously to table a proposed text amendment to the SED 1 “zone of influence,” a half‑mile buffer north of the Buxton Woods Special Environmental District, and to request a formal written legal opinion on the issue.

The amendment, requested by OBX Timber Trail LLC, would remove a density limit that currently bars more than three multifamily units per acre in the zone of influence and would also delete a short vegetation‑removal provision. Planning Director Noah Gill told the board the planning board had unanimously recommended approval, saying the language had become difficult to enforce and was inconsistent with the underlying zoning districts established in 1993.

The question drew more than a dozen public speakers from Buxton, Frisco and other parts of Hatteras Island. Residents, civic association leaders and conservation attorneys warned the board that removing the ordinance language could increase development pressure along a roughly eight‑mile corridor adjacent to the maritime forest core known locally as Buxton Woods. Dirk Carter of the Southern Environmental Law Center said the overlay was originally adopted to protect the maritime forest and the community’s drinking‑water resources and urged the commissioners to deny or table the amendment so the community could craft alternatives.

Supporters of the amendment, including a local civil engineer and the applicant’s representative, told commissioners the ordinance language had been effectively invisible to property owners and county staff for years, was not indexed clearly in the zoning code or on county maps, and therefore was unenforceable. Engineer Joe Anloff said that in his 29 years of practice he had never found the overlay language and that the lack of indexing meant landowners and consultants could reasonably rely on the underlying base zoning districts.

County attorney Bobby Owens (speaking in his capacity as county counsel at the hearing) told the board the issue has become a legal problem: the overlay was not properly indexed in the zoning code, which under case law and state practice makes it difficult to enforce, yet a December 2024 state law now requires unanimous consent of affected property owners before a local government may down‑zone property. Owens said that combination leaves the county with an ordinance that is both hard to enforce and that the county cannot simply “fix” without running afoul of the new down‑zoning rule.

Commissioners heard repeated calls from Buxton residents and advocates to preserve the buffer because it provides vegetation and dunes that protect the maritime forest and shield inland areas from storm impacts, rising tides and runoff. Speakers emphasized concerns about potable water treatment, septic setbacks and the local tourism economy.

After public comment and questions of staff and the planning board, the chairman moved to table the text amendment for 90 days and to request a formal written legal opinion (to be provided in the tabling period). The motion passed unanimously. Commissioners also directed staff and the planning board to work with community stakeholders on next steps during the tabling period.

The board’s action does not change zoning in the SED 1 district itself; commissioners and staff repeatedly clarified that the core SED 1 protections remain in place and that the contested language applies only to lands outside the SED 1 boundary.