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Nags Head board adopts tighter hotel parking standard, preserves 100-sq-ft conference metric
Summary
The Nags Head Board of Commissioners adopted a text amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance updating hotel parking requirements—reinstating the 100-square-foot conference/assembly metric and using 1.2 spaces per unit or 1 space per bedroom plus employee parking—after staff clarified handling of legacy/nonconforming hotels.
The Nags Head Board of Commissioners adopted a text amendment Dec. 4 that revises the town's hotel parking standards to better account for multi-bedroom units and employees while preserving existing conference-area calculations.
Planning Director Kelly Wyatt told the board the planning board recommended returning to an older standard: 1.2 parking spaces per rentable unit or 1 space per bedroom, whichever is greater, plus 1 space for every two employees on the largest shift. She noted the existing code's conference/assembly requirement remains in force: "for every 100 square feet of conference or assembly area," which staff said should be left unchanged.
Board members pressed for clarity on how the amendment would affect legacy or nonconforming hotels along Beach Road. Wyatt explained the town's nonconformity rules allow existing hotels to remain in their present form and that only parking required by new scope of work would need to meet the revised standard: "Only the new parking required would have to meet today's standards." She added that substantial-improvement rules used by FEMA and other programs (usually a 50% threshold) still shape how major projects are reviewed.
With that clarification, a commissioner moved to adopt the amendment with the conference-area metric restored; the motion passed. The board also adopted the required consistency statement, finding the text amendment consistent with the town's land-use plan.
Why it matters: The change aims to align parking requirements with modern hotel unit mixes (multi-bedroom and extended-stay units) and to reduce unintended underparking at newer hotels. Staff noted a hypothetical example: the Inn at Wellbone's previous requirement of 87 spaces would have equated to about 108 spaces under the revised metric, illustrating the practical effect on future proposals.
Next steps: The amendment will be incorporated into the UDO as adopted. Staff told the board it will continue reviewing related restaurant parking standards separately.
