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Nags Head adopts UDO amendment to allow wine bars and taprooms with restrictions
Summary
The board adopted a Unified Development Ordinance amendment creating wine bar and taproom use categories that ban distilled spirits, require seated service, limit closing time to 11 p.m., allow indoor entertainment only, and apply restaurant‑style parking standards.
The Nags Head Board of Commissioners on May 6 adopted a Board‑initiated amendment to the town’s Unified Development Ordinance to create two new, lower‑intensity commercial use categories: wine bars and taprooms.
Planning Director Kelly Wyatt told the board the ordinance is intended to distinguish lower‑intensity beer and wine establishments from traditional bar or nightclub uses. "A wine bar or taproom would be prohibited from selling distilled spirits. It would be required to have, seated patron service. It would be required to have a closing time of 11PM," Wyatt said. The amendment also limits outdoor customer‑service areas (500 square feet or 25% of indoor customer service area, whichever is less), prohibits outdoor entertainment, and ties parking to restaurant standards (one parking space per 55 square feet of customer service area).
Wyatt said the Planning Board reviewed the draft on April 21 and unanimously recommended approval after asking staff to simplify definitions and entertainment standards. Staff emphasized that the new uses are intended to remain lower in intensity than microbreweries and to keep the town’s longstanding prohibition on stand‑alone bars intact.
Commissioners asked several questions about potential outdoor decks, parking triggers and how the change interacts with state legislation. Wyatt said the town adopted a cautious approach to definitions and operational standards in part because of pending state legislation (Senate Bill 382) that could limit local zoning authority for parking and similar standards.
After discussion, the board made and adopted a motion to approve the ordinance (the markup, ordinance a) and the associated statement of consistency. The amendment took effect as adopted; applicants seeking to open a wine bar or taproom will be required to comply with the new supplemental regulations and neighborhood zoning rules.
