BALD HEAD ISLAND — Bald Head Island is on its way to gaining the village’s very first arcade, but not everyone is stoked about the proposal.
In a special meeting on April 13, the Bald Head Island Planning Board held a quasi-judicial hearing for a special use permit granting Stoked Village Arcade to be at 5 Merchants Row, on the bottom floor of an apartment complex. The applicant told the board no additional construction is planned or required to create the arcade, thus maintaining the integrity of the current roughly 1,800-square-foot space.
The arcade — fitted with crane, basketball, and racing games — opened first in March before the applicant realized a special use permit was necessary to operate the establishment for the public — hence the special meeting. Development Services Director Stephen Boyett, in doing code enforcement around the island, required it to be closed to the public.
The arcade is registered to Bald Head Island Plaza LLC, overseen by Jeff Stokely Jr., also a former New Hanover County Planning Board member. Stokely wasn’t fined, according to a village spokesperson, as village staff and Stokely determined it could be operational for residents living in the rental units above the business only until the planning board took it up.
He told the planning board at its meeting the goal was to make it a “family friendly” establishment, open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Stokely told Port City Daily the arcade was meant to supplement the island’s beach activities with an indoor recreation center for kids after a long day in the sun.
“It is designed to be, at the end of the day — once everybody’s enjoyed the nature experience of Bald Head Island — for kids to have somewhere to go at the same time that you can shop, or eat, or stay,” Stokley told the planning board. “That’s kind of a concept of Stoked Village: Stay, eat, shop, celebrate, play. And this is the play portion.”
His special use permit was approved in a 4-1 vote, with board member Betsi Stephen dissenting, concerned of negative impacts it could bring to the neighborhood.
Stoked Village Arcade is in the PD 2C zoning district, which is a commercial district. It’s located in and next to a residential area, with real estate offices, retail and restaurants on the street, yet also abuts the Maritime Forest Preserve, managed by the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management.
A special use permit was required because the zoning district PD-2C does not allow recreational facilities by right.
Special use permits are decided by quasi-judicial hearings, court-like procedures that rely on evidence and stipulate projects meet four criteria for approval. The criteria includes: the project ensures public health/safety, complies with all ordinance requirements, will not substantially injure adjoining property value, and is in harmony with the surrounding area.
Its geographic location was at the heart of pushback from the only member of the public who spoke in person at Monday’s hearing: Anne Berry. Berry lives on Edward Teach Wynd, half a mile from the proposed arcade.
“When I think of an arcade, I don’t think of living in harmony with nature,” she said. “I instead think of bells, whistles, and the constant hum of electronic devices. … An arcade doesn’t just change our landscape, it violates it.”
Stokely told Port City Daily he understood concerns from residents but said an arcade can provide more engagement.
“This could be a way to actually get off the phone and play with each other in person at the arcade,” he said.
Board member Chris Webb also had apprehensions, specifically about alcohol being allowed on the property, along with loiterers and smokers outside the premises. She worried teenagers would cause a ruckus and patrons could bring off-site alcohol to the premises.
“The teens on the island are so desperate for something to do, and so I can see the street becoming a little bit of a block party unintentionally,” Webb said.
Bald Head Island has a full-time population of less than 300 year-round, with the average age resident being 68; roughly six kids live on the island, according to the 2024 U.S. Census. However, the population swells to 5,000 during summer months, as families flock to the secluded island for vacations.
Resident Elizabeth Robinson submitted a comment requesting the establishment does not serve alcohol and remains drug-free. She wanted to ensure it was a kid-friendly place, with minimal interactions between drunk patrons and families.
Stokely assured the board no plans were made to serve food and alcoholic beverages.
Board member James Clark suggested they require the arcade to ban alcohol altogether. Village attorney Will Quick reminded members what grounds the board is able to actually dispute the project.
“We have to stay in our lane, and any alcohol regulation is controlled by a North Carolina ABC board,” Chair David Wray said. “We cannot, as a planning board, put alcohol restrictions on a property.”
Clark thought not being able to regulate alcohol on a property was “problematic.”
“Because we can deny the application, and we can deny it based on a concern that it’ll be a gathering point for kids walking in with six packs of beer,” he said.
Quick told the board that was false.
Capacity and overcrowding was also brought to the forefront. The first floor of the building where the arcade is located didn’t seem very big, according to some members. The capacity has not yet been decided, as the fire department will need to see the layout to determine the number. Board members worried people would cause a nuisance if it becomes congested.
Webb surmised that kids would text each other about meeting up there — “and before you know it, you’re at capacity inside, and then all of a sudden they’re overflowing and having their own sidewalk party in front.”
While the board acknowledged any nuisance on the sidewalk would have to be handled by a public safety officer, the overflow could result in noise being a problem, especially if it became a “party.”
“To me, I take comfort in the fact that they’ve got rental apartments above it,” Clark said, noting Stokely wouldn’t want the apartment renters to complain. “That, to me, is going to be the biggest controlling factor on loud noise.”
The village already has a noise ordinance in place, Quick added, which is regulated and enforced by code enforcement staff. Also, any enforcement on the area outside of the arcade, such as the sidewalk, will need to be done by public safety officers, rather than the property owners.
Despite initial concerns about noise, alcohol use, and disturbance to neighboring residents and businesses, ultimately, the board granted the special use permit. The board noted there was no evidence of the arcade posing a danger to the public or children, that it was in harmony with surrounding commercial businesses, complies with ordinances and won’t detract from the adjoining property value, also owned by the Stokley family.
Because the planning board has the authority to grant special use permits, the proposal will not need to go before Bald Head Village Council and is now approved to move forward with permitting.
[Ed. note: The article has been updated upon response.]
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