Bulletin: Carolina Beach, NC News Today
North Carolina exempts stays of 90 or more continuous days from lodging tax so the recommended 31-day floor would make all 12 units taxable accommodations
Dropping Carolina Beach's Rental Floor from 90 Days to 31 Would Pull 12 Apartments Into Lodging Tax
North Carolina exempts stays of 90 or more continuous days from lodging tax so the recommended 31-day floor would make all 12 units taxable accommodations
The Town of Carolina Beach Planning and Zoning Commission voted on August 13, 2026 to recommend allowing up to 12 apartments at The Proximity at Carolina Beach to be rented on stays of 31 days or longer. The number matters less than what it replaces.
When the town approved the project in 2021, the applicant accepted a condition prohibiting any rental of less than 90 days. The recommendation would cut that floor by roughly two thirds for a defined slice of the building.
Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/NEhEGc4jPJ8?t=915
What Was Requested, What Came Back
Developer GHK Cape Fear Development sought two changes to the terms governing the Lake Park Boulevard project: permission for 10% of the residential units (about 25 apartments) to operate as short-term rentals and permission to host public events on site without securing town permits. The commission recommended a lower ceiling of 12 units equal to 4.8% of the 250 apartments with the 31-day condition attached. Neither outlet covering the hearing reported a vote tally or the commission's treatment of the events provision.
Planning & Zoning agenda item covering proposed updates to The Proximity at Carolina Beach including revised outdoor amenity areas and allowing up to 10% of residential units as short-term rentals. | Source: https://mccmeetingspublic.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/
The complex which began welcoming residents in 2024 pairs the apartments with about 44,111 square feet of commercial space next to the Publix shopping center and Carolina Beach has no town-wide short-term rental ordinance to govern the units if the condition is loosened.
The Consent Requirement
Not a town-wide rule, the limit is a zoning condition and it only binds this property. Under G.S. 160D-703(b), conditions in a North Carolina conditional zoning district take effect only if the local government approves them and the petitioner consents in writing. Changing them runs back through the same legislative path which is why an advisory commission recommendation now sits in front of Town Council rather than a staff decision.
The Objection
Residents told the commission they had been assured the apartments would not be rented short term and raised noise, trash, policing and safety concerns. On the record, that assurance was the 90-day condition itself. The project's history is contested: the commission recommended denial of the enabling text amendment in August 2021 then unanimously recommended approval of the conditional rezoning that October and council approved the project in November 2021 with one dissent. The plan then covered 261 units on 12 acres.
⦾ Effective date: Not effective, town Council vote expected September 2026.
⦾ Existing condition: No rental under 90 days at the property.
⦾ Recommended change: 12 units at a 31-day minimum.
⦾ Registration required: No, and prohibited by state statute.
⦾ Night cap: None.
⦾ Maximum turnovers per unit: 11 - 12 per year at a 31-night floor.
⦾ Lodging tax: State and local sales tax plus New Hanover County room occupancy tax on stays under 90 continuous days. Stays of 90 or more continuous days to the same person are exempt.
⦾ Penalty for non-compliance: Not specified in the recommendation. Zoning enforcement would run against the property owner.
⦾ Platform responsibility: None proposed.
⦾ Enforcement mechanism: Conditional zoning conditions, consented to in writing by the owner.
Check on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DebLeCompteForCarolinaBeachTownCouncil/posts/pfbid02tGdPh4CYnWBxL3jVGKjkB4kc3eWW1i4zd799gaP3gEd2A1BuXnzEgodg4q3LjNwfl
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