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Pender County board denies height variance for rebuilt waterfront home
Summary
The Pender County Board of Adjustments denied a request to waive a two‑foot freeboard height increment so an owner could rebuild a fire‑destroyed house to its previous height. Staff said the rebuilt home would meet FEMA standards, but the board found the variance standard was not met and the motion failed for lack of unanimity.
The Pender County Board of Adjustments on a split vote denied a variance request that would have allowed a homeowner to rebuild a waterfront house to its prior height without meeting an additional two‑foot freeboard increment adopted with recent flood map updates.
Planner Sean Olds told the board the property at 108 Key Largo Drive was in a V‑zone and that new federal maps raised the base flood elevation from 10 feet in 2021 to 14 feet in 2026. Under Pender County’s Unified Development Ordinance and its 2‑foot freeboard policy, that change increases the regulatory flood protection elevation (RFPE) and affects the additional building height allowed under UDO §4.142. Olds said the applicant seeks relief from the extra two feet of freeboard required to reach the same building height previously…
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