BY STEFANIE JACKSON BOWMANN
Eastern Shore Post
Exmore is teetering on the edge of an opportunity for exponential growth — and the decision whether or not to take the leap is in the hands of the town’s elected and appointed officials.
Chris Carbaugh, of the Atlantic Group, proposed around 476 units of “housing product for all income levels” at a joint meeting of Exmore’s town council and planning commission on Monday, Aug. 19.
The houses would be built on about 157 acres on Occohannock Neck Road and Broadwater Road, behind the New Road community on the west side of U.S. Route 13.
To promote affordability, lots would be offered in three sizes: 50, 60, or 75 feet wide. Each lot would be at least 100 feet long.
The smaller lots would start on Occohannock Road, increasing in size approaching Broadwater Road.
The smallest available lot would be 5,000 square feet, or a little over one-tenth of an acre.
Such a lot would accommodate a near-tiny home of 532 square feet — a structure 14 feet wide and 38 feet long.
Exmore’s new sewer system, the construction of which is nearing completion, will enable the developer to sell such small lots in part because space for septic systems and their accompanying drain fields is not needed.
However, Exmore will need to amend its zoning ordinance to permit the small lots, which prompted the joint meeting of the planning commission and town council.
The planning commission will recommend amendments to the zoning ordinance, which may be implemented on the approval of the town council.
Attorney Jim Cornwell, who has been providing legal counsel to Exmore throughout the construction of its sewer project, was present Monday night to advise the two governing bodies.
Exmore currently has zoning designations such as R-20, which permits a residence on a lot of 20,000 square feet, or nearly a half acre; and R-11, which permits a residence on a lot of 11,000 square feet, or about a quarter acre.
But Exmore could avoid changing these zoning designations by establishing a planned unit development, or PUD, which would allow the town to permit lots of any size within the development, Cornwell said.
He advised the planning commission and town council to consider carefully “what you (Exmore) want to be when you grow up.”
Cornwell noted that localities across Virginia take widely varying approaches to zoning. For example, Northern Virginia maintains “full-on control” of its zoning, while Carroll County has “no zoning.”
Exmore should seek a place “in the middle” of those two extremes to manage growth, he said.
Town Manager Robert Duer said that increasing Exmore’s available housing stock could attract more families to the area and help “stabilize” Northampton County’s public schools, in which student enrollment is declining.
The growth also would bring more “disposable income” to the town, Duer said.
Depending on how many housing projects are completed, Exmore could grow to the size of Chincoteague, with a population of about 3,000, or Pocomoke City, with a population of about 4,000, he said.
Duer noted that, with that growth, living in Exmore would become more expensive, because the town would have to expand the services it provides.
Exmore likely would need to double its current police force of seven officers, obtain a new environmental permit to withdraw thousands more gallons of groundwater, pay the Hampton Roads Sanitation District higher rates for sewer service, and add a second trash pickup day to its weekly schedule, he said.
“No town goes through growth without higher taxes,” Duer said.
There also was concern over the affordability of the homes in the proposed development.
Carbaugh said the prices of the smaller homes likely would be in the low- to mid-$200,000 range, and the larger homes could cost $300,000 to $400,000 or more.
During the public comment period, Ken Dufty, of Wardtown Road, said that based on the average annual income of Northampton County residents, truly affordable housing would be a home purchased for $150,000 to $170,000 or rented for about $750 to $900 a month.
Monday night’s meeting was for informational purposes only, and no decisions were made.
Duer encouraged Exmore town council members and planning commissioners to thoughtfully consider the future of their town.
“This is a once-in-a-hundred-year opportunity,” he said. “It will not come again.”
