BY STEFANIE BOWMANN, Eastern Shore Post —
The Exmore Town Council on Monday, Feb. 3, unanimously approved an ordinance that allows the council to consider applications for planned unit developments, or PUDs, which could mean massive growth for the town.
Town Manager Taylor Dukes noted that the council will not be required to approve any PUDs, but the ordinance will bring the council to the negotiating table with developers.
“If someone says, ‘Hey, I want to build 500 homes,’ you say, ‘No, we don’t want 500 homes; we’ll do 250,” Dukes said, as an example.
Mayor Douglas Greer recalled a developer who had proposed the construction of mixed-use buildings with commercial space on the first floor and residential space on the second floor.
The project couldn’t move forward because it did not adhere to the zoning regulations in its proposed location, but the project could have been permitted in a PUD.
“We have the control” over development in a PUD, Greer said. “If we don’t want it, we don’t have to have it.”
In August 2024, Atlantic Group developer Chris Carbaugh attended a council meeting to propose a PUD of nearly 500 homes on more than 150 acres — roughly one home for every 1/4 acre to 1/3 acre.
But in September 2024, former Town Manager Robert Duer suggested a more modest level of growth with the construction of about 125 new homes.
The town would have a total of about 900 to 950 homes, and its population could grow from 1,473 to approximately 1,950.
That would keep Exmore’s population below 2,000, allowing the town to retain the special rate for sewer service that the town negotiated with the Hampton Roads Sanitation District.
Councilman Thomas Lewis made the motion to approve the PUD ordinance.
Without the ordinance to enable negotiations with developers, “we’re just going to scare everyone away, and they’re going to jump somewhere else, and we’re not going to build this town up,” he said.
A PUD allows for flexibility in zoning to promote the creative design of communities that make economical and efficient use of land, supply comforts and conveniences to residents, and provide a better living environment than is typically achieved through conventional regulation.
Exmore’s PUD ordinance requires at least 25 acres of contiguous land area for a planned unit development.
At least 25% of the total land area must be devoted to landscaped open space. If the PUD has residential components, at least 7.5% of the residential areas must be reserved for recreation and the development of recreational facilities.
Materials that must be submitted with a PUD application include an archaeological and historic site survey, traffic impact study, stormwater management plan, waste-stream impact study, environmental impact study, wetlands identification and protection plan, economic impact study, school impact assessment, and a utility implementation plan.
