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Planning board recommends amendment to MR3 rules limiting enlargements on nonconforming homes
Summary
The Town of Sunset Beach Planning Board voted 3-0 June 19 to recommend a zoning text amendment that would let existing detached single-family homes on nonconforming MR3 lots enlarge without creating new side-setback nonconformities, cap additions at 50% of existing square footage, and require accessory structures to meet current standards.
The Town of Sunset Beach Planning Board voted 3-0 on June 19 to recommend approval of a zoning text amendment aimed at addressing nonconforming single-family homes in the MR3 district.
Ron, a town staff member, told the board that amendments adopted after the current Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) changed MR3 standards — including raising minimum lot size from 7,500 to 10,000 square feet and changing side-setback rules — created several nonconforming situations in subdivisions such as Sand/San Piper Bay, Jaguars Lair and Sea Trail. He read the draft remedy, saying: “a detached single family home that existed or was vested prior to September 2023 and that is non-conforming regarding the interior side setback may be expanded or enlarged provided such expansion or enlargement does not create any new nonconformity or increase the extent of the existing nonconformity with regard to the side setback requirement,” and that “that expansion cannot exceed 50% of the square footage of the existing single family home.”
Board members pressed staff about scope. One member asked whether the draft should distinguish between lots that became nonconforming because the town changed its rules and lots that were annexed into the town after homes were built; Ron said the amendment is a townwide text change and the proposed remedy would apply in both situations. Members also questioned whether the term “existed” was precise enough to capture properties that had secured permits but were unfinished; the board agreed to add vesting language. As revised, the board adopted a motion recommending approval of the amendment with the modification to use “existed or was vested prior to September 2023.”
The draft also clarifies that accessory structures remain subject to nonconforming accessory-structure rules and that new accessory buildings (for example a pool house) must meet the current 7.5-foot setback standard. The board recorded the motion as Action A, found the amendment neither consistent nor inconsistent with the Town of Sunset Beach 2017 land use plan (noting no specific policies for nonconforming lots), and concluded the amendment was in the public interest. The motion passed on a 3-0 voice vote and will be forwarded to the Town Council for consideration.
Next steps: the Planning Board’s recommendation and the modified draft UDO language will be transmitted to the Town Council; the council must consider the text change and any related ordinance or adoption steps.
