*      See Section 13-2 for multifamily dimensional requirements.

**     See Section 12-1 for planned development requirements.

***    Where abutting an R district a permitted or special use must meet the identical requirement of the abutting yard in that district.

****   Dimensional requirements for lots subdivided after April 26, 1994.

*****  See Section 12-2 for CD and DB development requirements.

****** No minimum required on Bridges Street from 4th Street to 13th Street.

†      No structure located within one hundred (100) feet of an abutting single-family residential zoning classification shall exceed a height of fifty (50) feet (Section 14-39).

‡      Increased height permitted if approved the City Council as part of a conditional Zoning Map amendment (Section 12-2.4(C)).

13-2.1

The requirements of this section shall be applied to all multifamily dwellings and developments in all zoning districts allowing "multifamily dwellings" as either a permitted use or a special use, except planned developments which are subject to the requirements contained in section 12-1 and as noted in this or other sections of this Ordinance.

Prior to any construction on any lot over eighteen thousand (18,000) square feet, a comprehensive site plan, accompanied by a survey of the property with the seal of a registered land surveyor or engineer, shall be submitted to the Planning Board for approval showing:

(A)

Compliance with all development requirements of this Ordinance;

(B)

The location, type, number, and screening of proposed required waste container sites; and

(C)

The location and general design of all proposed buildings, open spaces, watercourses, traffic lanes, parking areas, lighting plans, recreation facilities, specific drainage plans, and signs.

The site plan shall be accompanied by a drainage impact study of the site and all downstream properties as regards surface water runoff. The study shall be performed by a registered land surveyor or registered engineer. All proposed drainage for the site shall be set forth in the impact study and shall comply with Section 13-3 of this Ordinance.

A technically complete application which demonstrates that the requirements of the Unified Development Ordinance have been met, to include eighteen (18) copies of the site plan, shall be submitted at least twenty-eight (28) calendar days prior to the date of the next regularly scheduled Planning Board meeting. Subject to the length of the agenda and complexity of the application, late submittals may be placed on the meeting agenda with the approval of the Land Use Administrator. The planning staff shall conduct its review to determine compliance with all zoning requirements. The applicant shall be informed in writing concerning deficiencies and the applicant shall be required to cause the redrafting of the site plan to be accomplished before resubmittal for approval. If the site plan is approved or conditionally approved, one copy of the site plan shall be returned to the applicant signifying approval or stating the conditions that must be met before the application can be forwarded to the Planning Board for review. The Planning Board shall conduct a review of the site plan. The Planning Board secretary shall retain an electronic copy of the site plan for the record.

Site plan review shall only be conducted for approval or disapproval based on demonstrated compliance with the requirements of this ordinance or other applicable codes. Conditions may be made for the delivery of documentary evidence from other governmental agencies that must grant approval or for making minor modifications to correct site plan deficiencies. Furthermore, the Planning Board may give advisory opinions on general aspects of a site plan.

13-2.2

Development standards. Minimum lot size for multifamily use shall be eighteen thousand (18,000) square feet. Each lot for multifamily use shall provide:

(A)

First unit. Five thousand (5,000) square feet.

(B)

Each additional unit of two (2) or more bedrooms. Three thousand (3,000) square feet.

(C)

Each additional one-bedroom unit. Two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet.

(D)

Parking. See Subsection 20-3.1 for required parking. Parkin shall be in accordance with the requirements of Article 20 and Appendix IV.

(E)

Open spaces. It is the purpose and intent of this subsection that open spaces of sufficient area and content be maintained to improve the livability of all multifamily uses with the intended and permitted higher population densities. With the approval of the Planning Board, open spaces may be established in any required yard or area to be developed as multifamily except as restricted in this Ordinance.

(1)

A minimum of 500 square feet per unit shall be reserved for open space.

(2)

To the maximum extent possible, open space shall be contiguous with adequate ingress/egress.

(3)

Open space/recreation areas shall be maintained in a clean, trash-free condition.

(4)

A minimum of 90% of the open space areas/recreation areas shall maintain a length, width, and diameter of not less than 30'. The licensed design professional must provide evidence to document that this requirement has been met on the plan.

(5)

Wetlands (including coastal and 404 wetlands), retention/detention ponds, and areas over public trust waters shall not be included in required open space/recreation areas.

(6)

Required buffer/screen areas and drainage/utility easements may be located in open space/recreation areas.

(F)

Maximum height limit. Fifty (50) feet as measured from the average finished grade.

(G)

Setbacks: Minimum setbacks shall be calculated based upon the building within the development which contains the greatest number of stories.

(1)

Minimum front yard. Twenty-five (25) feet.

(2)

Minimum side yard.

(a)

First story. Two side aggregate (combined) totaling a minimum of twenty (20) feet with a minimum of eight (8) feet for one side, only; plus

(b)

Each additional story in height. Add five (5) feet to each side yard for each additional story in height.

(3)

Minimum rear yard.

(a)

First story. Twenty-five (25) feet for the first story in height; plus

(b)

Each additional story in height. Add five (5) feet to rear yard for each additional story in height.

(4)

Example: Property with Two Side Yards; Tallest Building, Four Stories.

= 8 + 15' one side /12 + 15' second side = 23' side 1/27' side 2 OR

= 9' + 15' one side /11' + 15' second side = 24' side 1/26' side 2 OR

= 10' + 15' one side /10' + 15' second side = 25' both sides

(H)

Waste container required. Provisions for the management of waste shall be considered as part of the review of a multifamily development. Waste container location, type, number, and screening are subject to approval by the Public Services Department.

(I)

Reserved.

(J)

Curb cuts. Curb cut locations shall be subject to review and approval by Morehead City Public Services Department or NCDOT if the abutting street is a state road.

(K)

Outside lighting.

(1)

Multifamily housing development shall be required to install on-site, exterior lighting to light parking lots, areas surrounding buildings , and developed recreation areas.

(2)

Outdoor lighting plan required.

(a)

An outdoor lighting plan shall be submitted separately from the site plan and shall show the location, the height above grade, and the type of illumination (such as LED, incandescent, halogen, high pressure sodium, etc.) throughout the entire project site.

(b)

The plan shall show the distribution and density levels of illumination for each exterior fixture in a horizontal plane, producing a contouring map (isolux diagram) with foot-candles indicated. This information is available from the manufacturer of the specified fixture.

(3)

Light trespass. The lighting plan shall minimize light trespass onto residentially zoned properties and existing residential uses. No greater than 0.5 foot-candles (FC) shall be permitted at property lines abutting residentially zoned properties or existing residential uses.

(4)

Minimum light level. The minimum light level shall be no less than 0.2 foot-candles (FC) to 0.7 FC minimum with a uniformity (average/minimum) ratio of 4:1. All light levels are measured at ground level. The specified minimum FC value above 0.2 FC means that the lowest light level point or location must not be less than the minimum stated FC value. An average to minimum uniformity ration of 4:1 means that the average FC to minimum FC ratio cannot be worse (greater) than 4:1 within proposed parking lots, areas proposed to surround buildings, and recreation areas proposed to be developed.

(5)

Wall mounted lights. In addition to other types of lighting, wall mounted lights may be used to satisfy the requirements of this subsection.

(L)

Public water access. All multifamily development projects adjoining public estuarine waters shall make provisions for public access. Where bulkheads are constructed along mean high water, boardwalks or other similar structures may be used to provide access. One fifteen-foot (15') water access easement shall be provided for each one thousand two hundred (1,200) feet of shoreline. The access easement shall be directly accessible to a public street, road, or sidewalk. Streets offered for dedication which run to the mean high-water mark may count towards the requirements of this section. Plans for the developed/improved water access areas shall be submitted as part of the comprehensive multifamily site plan review.

If requested by the developer, the City Council may accept a fee in lieu of providing public water access. The Council will use factors such as proximity of other local public water accesses, likelihood of public utilizing public water access on the site, whether the site has traditionally been used as a public water access point, etc. to determine whether to accept the fee in lieu of dedication.

If the City Council determines it is acceptable for the developer to pay a fee in lieu of dedication, the amount shall be based on one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per unit/lot.

(M)

With the written permission of all owners of record, the area of adjoining lots of record may be included when calculating the number of units a lot for multifamily use can support and the amount of open space required pursuant to Subsections 13-2.2(A), (B), (C), and (E). To be included in such calculation, the adjoining lots of record must (i) be vacant or used for multifamily use and (ii) located in a zoning district allowing "multifamily dwellings" as either a permitted use or a special use, and (iii) located in the same zoning district. To the extent that adjoining lots of record are included when calculating the number of multifamily units a lot can support, all existing multifamily units must be included in the calculation. The owners of the lots of record shall record with the local County Register of Deeds an instrument running with and binding the land listing the lots of record that were included when calculating the number of multifamily units that could be supported and the amount of open space required. A copy of this instrument recorded with the County Register of Deeds shall be provided to the Planning Department.

13-2.3

Townhouse development. Townhouse development may be allowed in any district listing multifamily dwelling as a permitted or special use.

13-2.4

Modifications to an approved plan.

(A)

Minor modifications of a multifamily site plan approved by the Planning Board may be approved administratively provided they do not result in a change of use, an increase in the number of units, a reduction in open space, a major modification in landscaping or screening, an increase of 10% or greater of overall ground coverage by structures, a change in vehicular access, a variation from an imposed condition, or other modification which is determined by the Planning Department to be a major modification of the multifamily site plan, provided the modification meets at least the minimum standards contained in the Unified Development Ordinance.

(B)

The Planning Director shall have the delegated authority to approve an administrative modification to an approved multifamily site plan. The standard for approving or denying such a requested change shall be that the change does not significantly alter the site plan and that the change does not have a significant impact upon abutting properties.

(Ord. No. 2023-O-14, § 4, 9-12-2023; Ord. No. 2025-O-04, 1-14-2025)

All storm drainage shall be adequately designed so that roads may be maintained without excessive cost, and so as to prevent flooding on private property from storm runoff of the design frequency. The minimum design frequency shall be as follows:

13-3.1

Storm sewer collector—Ten (10) years.

13-3.2

Cross drainage—Twenty-five (25) years.

In areas where ditch grades or quantities of flow make it impracticable to establish and maintain vegetation of such type and density that erosion will be substantially prohibited and normal flow will not be impeded, an erosion-resistant lining, such as paving or rock riprap, shall be required.

Subsurface drainage shall be adequate to maintain a stable subgrade.

Culverts shall be installed and maintained by the property owner so as to be capable of handling surface waters from upstream development as well as site development in accordance with the engineering requirements for the project.

Storm drainage ditches shall have side slopes of at least two (2) to three (3) feet of horizontal distance for each one foot of vertical distance or in the discretion of the City Engineer. Said ditches shall be maintained by the property owner and be kept free of trees and other obstructions.

(Ord. No. 2025-O-04, 1-14-2025)

13-4.1

Unsuitable or dangerous site conditions.

(A)

Lots unsuitable for residential or commercial development due to erosion, topographical features, drainage characteristics, or other reasons that result in a site being unsuitable or dangerous for development shall not be platted for such use until such conditions are corrected.

(B)

Lots located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction which have not been determined suitable or which are unsuitable for septic tanks shall be so marked on the final plat unless such lots are to be served by an approved disposal system.

13-4.2

Disposal areas.

(A)

Areas which have been used for disposal of solid waste shall not be subdivided unless tests by the Carteret County Health Department, a structural engineer, and a soils expert determine that the land is suitable for construction purposes.

13-4.3

Flood damage.

(A)

All subdivisions shall be consistent with Article 18 Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance.

(B)

All subdivisions shall locate any public utilities and facilities such as sewer, gas, electrical, and water systems so as to minimize flood damage.

13-4.4

Federal and state regulations.

(A)

All lots, structures, utilities, and filling shall comply with any applicable state and federal regulations, including but not limited to, the Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, Code of Federal Regulations.

13-4.5

Silt fences required.

(A)

Silt fences shall be required to be installed and maintained for any land disturbing activity until ground cover is established.