WILMINGTON — Residents of a large Carolina Beach Road neighborhood are urging the Wilmington Board of Adjustment to deny a variance request attached to a proposal to put two drive-thrus at 4125 Echo Farms Blvd.
“Even if it is a drive-thru restaurant that goes there — I mean, we can’t really say what goes there — restrictions are put into place to protect the residents of the city of Wilmington in New Hanover County,” Blair Deen, vice president of Echo Farms Residents Association, said on behalf of the association Wednesday. “And the reason that they are trying to request this variance is to go against those protections.”
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Tanner Postal Commercial Real Estate, on behalf of property owner Internet Optics LLC, has submitted plans to construct two drive-thru businesses on nearly 2.5 acres fronting Carolina Beach Road near the entrance to the Echo Farms neighborhood.
Site plans show the drive-thrus, most likely food service entities, will be accessible through one entrance of Carolina Beach Road and another off Echo Farms Boulevard. Port City Daily reached out to the developers for more specifics on the businesses planned for the site but did receive a response by press.
The Echo Farms Residents’ Association released a letter to media on Dec. 30 opposing the variance. Deen said it was drafted after polling members of the association’s Facebook page on whether to weigh in; she said around 80% of the page’s 320 members said yes.
While their opposition isn’t towards the development of the property itself — the property is zoned office and institutional, allowing many commercial uses by-right — Deen said the group would like to see the developers stay within the parameters allowed without variances, even if that meant only constructing one drive-thru.
“I’m not against a cute little coffee shop, the place to walk over from the park and the pool,” Deen said, noting the neighborhood is welcoming of public amenities, including its pool and roads for walking and running groups.
However, the developers argue half the site would be “unbuildable” under regular conditions due the site’s unique physical characteristics and topography.”
Under the prescribed conditions for drive-thrus, setbacks must be 20 feet from any street right-of-way and 200 feet from a residential area; however, the site is bounded by three separate rights-of-ways and the residential adjacent setback line runs through the middle of the site. Thus, the current site plans have the driveway and pickup window encroaching into these setbacks.
A variance is also needed to place the drive-thru facility between a building and a right-of-way and on the same side as the primary entrance, as well as remove the requirement for an escape/bypass lane in the drive-thru. The request also asks to be relieved of the 15-foot streetscape depth requirement.
The association argues that the land code restrictions are in place for a reason, and the traffic generated by the two drive-thrus would be too much for the neighborhood to handle.
“The current road network was designed and constructed to serve the residential character of Echo Farms, not intensive commercial development that relies on high-volume, drive-through traffic,” the letter states. “Introducing a new access road specifically to accommodate drive-through facilities would significantly overburden both the lot, Echo Farms Boulevard, and the neighborhood.”
The site plan estimates a daily vehicle traffic total of 1,361 trips with a morning peak of 122 trips and an evening peak of 106 trips. Deen pointed out the intersection of Carolina Beach Road and Echo Farms Boulevard is already congested with traffic. Coming from George Anderson Drive across from Echo Farms, the North Carolina Department of Transportation logged a daily count of 4,200 trips in 2023.
The letter goes on to say the Echo Farms residents’ quality of life depends upon low-density residential development, limited commercial intrusion, preservation of the residential streetscape, sense of privacy and community cohesion and protection from incompatible commercial uses.
Port City Daily reached out to the developers for more information on what businesses would be placed onsite and their variance request. No response was received by press.
The request is scheduled to be heard at the board of adjustment’s Thursday meeting, though the agenda notes staff are requesting the item be continued to the next meeting. According to a city spokesperson, the applicant is modifying the site plan, which may change their requested variances.
Should the hearing proceed, either on Thursday or at a later date, the developers will need to prove four findings to the BOA, including:
- What unnecessary hardship would result from the strict application of the ordinance
- The hardship results from conditions that are peculiar to the property, such as location, size, or topography
- That the hardship did not result from actions taken by the applicant or the property owner
- That the requested variance is consistent with the spirit, purpose, and intent of the ordinance, such that public safety is secured, and substantial justice is achieved
Per the Echo Farms’ letter, the resident’s association thinks the developers have failed to meet any of the four findings, claiming a granted variance would set a “dangerous precedent” and further strain an already overburdened residential roadway.
Deen said the association has not hired outside counsel to represent them but does plan to have spokespersons present at the hearing.
Tips or comments? Reach out to journalist Brenna Flanagan here.
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