The Lake Waccamaw Town Council’s agenda for Tuesday, Nov. 8, includes two separate scheduled public hearings concerning a rezoning request and changes to the town ordinance regulating campgrounds.
It also includes the usual public comment period at which speakers may bring up other local concerns. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the town hall at 203 Flemington Dr.
The council is slated to consider both campground-related items for votes immediately after the hearings. After that, the council is scheduled to discuss stormwater drainage at Columbia Avenue and Grove Circle before receiving monthly finance and manager’s reports. The agenda provided by town staff shows the council then holding a closed session to consult with its attorney.
The area to be considered includes “the existing campground and the property better known as Dupree,” Hinnant’s documentation states. The Dupree tract lies between the campground and the lake shore.
An Oct. 20 memorandum from Allen Serkin, planning consultant with the Cape Fear Council of Governments, notes that the vacant lakefront properties are under contract for purchase by Lake Waccamaw Campground, Inc., and Hinnant has authorization from the seller to act on their behalf in applying for the zoning change.
The text amendment also addresses lot sizes, setbacks, structural additions to RVs and shared recreational space. The town’s planning board reviewed Hinnant’s application Oct. 3 and judged it “reasonable and in the public interest and consistent with the land use plan” set in place in 2001.
Lake Waccamaw’s zoning ordinance defines the purpose of an existing commercial district as “to provide centralized shopping and services,” and it allows the owner to run a wide variety of retail stores; business, financial, medical or professional services; a motel, restaurant or cafeteria; a service station; or entertainment such as a bowling alley or pool hall.
The town ordinance also defines the purpose of the proposed marina campground district as “to provide public access to the lake through the provision of boating, camping and accessory uses.” Permitted uses include boat rentals, sale of boat- and fishing-related goods and services and restaurant uses “accessory to a marina operation.” A separate text amendment application excludes dry stacking of boats and excavation of uplands to create a marina.
Hinnant states in a document submitted to the council that he wants the land rezoned “to be consistent with the actual use of the property. This is the current use and has been the traditional use of the property in the past.”
The campground has been established at the south end of Canal Cove Road since before the site was incorporated into town limits, Hinnant explained in a presentation to the town council in July. Hinnant bought the site in November 2021.
To participate in the scheduled hearings or the monthly general comment period earlier, residents may attend and comment in person; they may also submit comments by email to mparker@lakewaccamawnc.gov no later than noon Tuesday. Emailed comments will be read aloud (for a maximum of three minutes) during the public hearing and included in the record.
