Planning Board approves text amendment to allow watercraft rentals in Nags Head shopping centers

The Nags Head Planning Board voted June 16 to recommend a text amendment to Section 7.32 of the town’s Unified Development Ordinance to allow water‑dependent recreational uses — including powered and non‑powered watercraft rentals — in commercial mixed‑use developments located within the Commercial Outdoor Recreation Overlay District (CORD).

Kelly, the town’s planning director, told the board the amendment is legislative only and would not increase the townwide cap on commercial water‑dependent operators or the per‑business limit on rentable personal watercraft. "This amendment would simply allow an already permitted use, which is water‑dependent recreational uses, to be considered within an additional development type, which is commercial mixed‑use development," Kelly said.

The staff report traced the regulations to a late‑1990s carrying‑capacity study of Roanoke Sound. That study recommended maintaining a limit of seven operators in town and a maximum of eight rentable personal watercraft per business; Kelly said those limits would remain unchanged if the amendment is adopted. Kelly named two existing shopping centers that would meet the ordinance criteria today: Caribbean Corners on the causeway and the outlets at Nags Head (the former Tangier Outlets).

Board members asked detailed questions about the study’s coverage, past unpermitted activity, and how the amendment would interact with site operations. Kelly said the 1998 study surveyed locations on both sides of the causeway and remains the basis for the town’s capacity limits, but she acknowledged that recreational uses have diversified since then and that operations have become more complex. "The study took into account the causeway, both the north and the south," she said.

Several members raised operational and safety concerns that the amendment itself cannot resolve: parking demand and traffic circulation at shopping centers, where trailers and staging space for boats could impede pedestrian circulation; equipment storage and docking needs; refueling and fuel‑spill risk; and the potential for increased user conflicts as activities such as kiteboarding and stand‑up paddleboarding have grown. One board member noted past fuel‑spill incidents at docks and said cleanup on water poses special challenges.

Kelly and other members said those site‑level issues would be addressed through the special‑use permit and site‑plan review process, where applicants must provide parking calculations, operational plans, and details about docking and fueling. Kelly emphasized the amendment does not grant a specific business permission to operate; it only allows the use to be considered for approval through the standard discretionary review process.

Board members also discussed changes in watercraft technology — including electric motors — and the potential need to revisit older regulations in the future. "These are older regulations and they probably do need a revisit," Kelly said, while noting that updates were not part of the immediate amendment.

After discussion, a board member moved to approve the amendment and another seconded. The board approved the motion by voice vote; the chair said, "Motion carries." The board directed staff to capture the comments in the planning board minutes so they inform future special‑use reviews.

Next steps: the action the board recommended is a legislative amendment to the UDO; any business seeking to operate water‑dependent recreational activities from a shopping center would still need to apply for and receive a special‑use permit and site‑plan approval that addresses parking, staging, fueling and safety.