From Hyde County
Hyde County will continue two public hearings at 5 p.m. today (May 14).
These are continuation of hearings from the May 4 monthly meeting. Kris Cahoon Noble, the Hyde County manager, will give the 2021 budget message at 6 p.m.
Tonight’s meeting will be televised live on Hyde County Public Information Facebook page here. You don’t have to join Facebook to watch.
Due to the restrictions limiting gatherings, these hearings were conducted mostly online and by phone conferencing. The hearings were streamed via Facebook Live and the video was posted to our website. In order to better inform citizens about the public hearings, we are releasing a recap or description of each hearing below.
The county also set up a voicemail box to accept public comments for the Board of Commissioners meetings and public hearings. You can now call, 252-926-5288, to leave a public comment. We will continue to utilize this voicemail as an option to accept public comments from citizens who cannot attend meetings or hearings in the future.
Board of Equalization and Review
The Hyde County Board of Equalization and Review convened at 5 p.m. on May 4 and is currently in recess. They will reconvene on Thursday (May 14) and again on Monday, June 1, both at 5 p.m. Any changes to the meeting schedule will be promptly advertised.
This board hears and judges appeals to the 2020 Property Tax Valuations. For a FAQ on the appeals process go to https://bit.ly/2AsVV3v
Your 2020 property valuation can be viewed by using the online Hyde County Property Record Search at http://lrcpwa.ncptscloud.com/Hyde/
Real estate appeals will be accepted for the 2020 tax year until the Hyde County Board of Equalization and Review adjourns on June 1. To file an appeal of your 2020 property valuation, go to https://forms.gle/korqmr8K81yYf7gC7 or call the tax office at 252-926-4469.
Flood Maps and Hyde County Flood Ordinance
A Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) has been completed for Hyde County. Hyde County’s new flood maps will become effective on June 1, and upon that date, FEMA and Hyde County Building Inspections will begin to use the new flood maps. These maps can be viewed at https://fris.nc.gov/fris
Significant changes exist between the previous flood maps and the new flood maps, and for the majority of Hyde County flood elevations have been lowered. Hyde County can and intends to adopt a Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance that requires new constructions and building elevations be higher than the new flood maps recommend.
The Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance can be found and reviewed at http://www.hydecountync.gov/departments/building_inspections.php
The Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance will add an additional freeboard requirement. Freeboard is a factor of safety usually expressed in feet above a flood level for purposes of floodplain management. Freeboard results in significantly lower flood insurance rates due to lower flood risk.
Public hearings have been advertised and held at the March, April and May Board of Commissioners meetings. A final public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. June 1 in conjunction with the regular Hyde County Board of Commissioners meeting, and the board will vote to adopt the flood maps and the new flood ordinance. Public comments on the ordinance can also be emailed to lstotesberry@hydecountync.gov
Amendments to the Ocracoke Development Ordinance
This hearing concluded on May 4 with the commissioners voting unanimously to adopt the recommended changes below.
Following Hurricane Dorian, the Ocracoke Planning Advisory Board recommended changes to two sections of the Ocracoke Development Ordinance. These changes were recommended to help with the ongoing rebuilding effort in Ocracoke.
The Ocracoke Advisory Planning Board recommended that Section 36-173, Table of Nonconforming Structures, be changed from 180 days to 365 days.
It would now read as, “Any destroyed nonconforming building may be rebuilt to its original dimensions if a permit for rebuilding is applied for within 365 days from the date of destruction. Thereafter, it shall not be rebuilt, except in conformity with the development standards of this article.”
It was also recommended that in Section 36-174, the Table of Development Standards footnote be amended to add church steeples. It would now read as, “No structure or appurtenance attached to any structure, except chimneys, antennas, church steeples and weather instruments shall exceed the 35 feet maximum building height and no exempted structure shall exceed 40 feet.”
Video of the public hearings conducted May 4 can be viewed at http://www.hydecountync.gov/newsdetail_T73_R2389.php The hearing on amendments to the Ocracoke Development Ordinance starts at minute 5:00 and the hearing on the Flood Prevention Ordinance starts at minute 10:49.
