A luxury Carolina Beach apartment complex could soon have a portion of its units permitted for use as short-term rentals despite concerns from current residents.
Representatives for The Proximity at Carolina Beach, a 250-unit complex accompanied by 10 commercial businesses, applied to allow 10% short-term rental usage. After more than two hours of discussion, the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of 12 short-term rental units. Each rental must be booked for at least 31 days, per conditions imposed by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
The application will now head to Town Council.
Just before calling the meeting to order, Chairman Jeff Hogan indicated that he was expecting a big crowd for the hearing.
“There’s a lot less
people here than I thought so that’s good,” Hogan said. “Thank you, Jesus.”
During the hearing, Mike Brown of Cape Fear Development said that the company’s intention has always been to establish a “long-term, mixed-use community.” He said that the building is currently 97% leased.
“After several years of operating the community, we’ve learned that having some additional flexibility would allow us to respond better to the needs of residents and circumstances of individual units,” Brown said.
Brown said that the company has had to relocate residents to other units in response to noise complaints, and that having short-term rentals would provide another tool for addressing those types of situations. He also noted that some residents had requested furnished spaces for visiting family members. Brown emphasized that the units would not be designated vacation rentals.
Proximity resident Christina Bowen was among the group of residents urging the board to deny the request.
“This is our home, we know our neighbors and we watch out for each other,” Bowen said. “More short-term rentals would mean more noise, more trash, more parking problems, more overcrowding, more security concerns. This proposal provides no public benefit, it simply converts homes into commercial lodging.”
Mike Mytych said that he moved to Carolina Beach for the community and was one of several residents that said he signed a lease at the Proximity under the assumption that the complex would not be converted for use by vacationers. The town and the applicant agreed to not allow short-term rentals at the site as part of a conditional rezoning when the project was pitched in 2021.
“Short-term renters tend to care less about property maintenance and are more likely to damage property in common areas,” Mytych said.
Resident Christian Dilger said that he has had to kick out a group of 15 teenagers who had broken into Proximity’s pool because the complex does not have security.
Residents also cited existing traffic pickup issues at the complex, noting that trash piles up in the hallways. Brown said that the management company is working to address the problem, as well as enforcing stricter parking regulations.
Daniel Sheehan covers New Hanover County for the StarNews. Reach him at dsheehan@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Short-term rentals moving forward in Carolina Beach despite opposition
