IS IT TIME TO OUST TOWN COUNCIL, CLIFF OGBURN & WES HASKETT?

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There is no doubt that the Southern Shores Cemetery was paved with a beautiful concrete driveway that is even better looking than standard concrete because of the acid washing that shows the aggregate in the concrete.  The question is why would money be spent paving an easily walkable/drivable driveway in the cemetery of a beachfront town that lacks handicap access to most beaches?  When basic needs like handicap access and handicap accessible bathrooms are needed at most beach entrances, why are town resources used for organizing the paving of the cemetery.  Isn't it most important to prioritize spending on the town needs at their biggest asset, the beach, before unnecessarily spending money other places?  

**UPDATE**  Southern Shores Town Council indicated at their May meeting that money was spent to beautify the Southern Shores Cemetary because the money could only be spent on the cemetery.  What Southern Shores Town Council did not explain at the May 2025 Town Council meeting is why they believe Southern Shores employees, attorneys and board members using definitions for words in town code not found in English dictionaries will prevent their town being subjected to a corruption raid.

Wes Haskett, the Planning Board and Town Council all agreed that notification requirements in Town Code 36-414(b) requiring posted notice at property(s) effected by a ZTA prior to the hearing were not complied with because they claim 36-414(b) only applies to map amendments.  Unfortunately for Southern Shores Dare County Schools and dictionaries available to the public do not give the words "and where" the meaning of the word "if", as required in Southern Shores claims.  To make matters worse for Southern Shores, a public records request filed on May 13, 2025 requesting all records, including dictionaries that give the word(s) "and where" the meaning "if" as Wes Haskett and the Board of Adjustments claimed on October 21, 2024 and April 21, 2025 also did not produce a single piece of evidence supporting Southern Shores claim.  

With the beach being a large reason vacationers chose to spend their money in Southern Shores, why is Southern Shores using construction style porter potty bathrooms at the beaches? Concrete bathrooms that appear hurricane proof are found at the Currituck soundpark and some beaches in Corolla also have public bathrooms with running water (as opposed to porter potties with a tank of water often swarmed by flies as you try to use the bathroom without being splashed with the water from in the tank).

Wes Haskett filed a zoning amendment application on March 31, 2023 but never posted notice at property he claims was effected as Town Code 36-414(b) requires when rezoning subdividable property to unsubdividable (in addition to the notification requirements in Town Code 36-414(a)).  During the time Wes Haskett was supposed to have posted notice he was also asked 4 times about subdividing the 75 E Dogwood Trail lot in May 2023 and did not mention the proposed amendment to the person buying 75 E Dogwood Trail.  "Where there is a duty to speak, fraud can be practiced by silence as well as by a positive misrepresentation". Isler v. Brown, 196 N.C. 685, 146 S.E. 803; Brooks Equipment and Manufacturing Co. v. Taylor, 230 N.C. 680, 55 S.E.2d 311; Brooks v. Ervin Construction Co., 253 N.C. 214, 116 S.E.2d 454.  Public records indicate Wes Haskett communicated with the realtor and old property owner about the 75 E Dogwood Trail lot subdivision and Wes Haskett's withholding of the proposed amendment allowed the old owner to negotiate an additional $75,000 from the new property owner that they would not have received if there was posted notice at the effected property.  After Wes Haskett had his zoning amendment approved by Town Council he refused to answer a question about how the property owners were notified and hired the Town's attorney, Philip Hornthal. Southern Shores Town Code of Ethics only permits Town Money to be spent in the interest of all the property owners, but for some reason Wes Haskett is spending town money on attorneys misrepresenting Town Code. The Zoning Text Amendment references the exact time of the public hearing these attorneys misrepresented Town Code.

All of the problems referenced on the Save Southern Shores website stem from the misconduct of Wes Haskett and Cliff Ogburn.  Wes Haskett withheld a proposed lot width amendment that he claims prevents lot subdivisions 4 times in May of 2023 as the previous owner of 75 E Dogwood Trail negotiated an additional $75,000 for a lot that was subdividable.  Wes Haskett informed the new owner of 75 E Dogwood Trail that a Variance would be the way to obtain an exception to the lot width amendment.  The Variance application was denied after Wes Haskett provided a false statement claiming Town notification pre-requisite requirements were complied with when posted notice and mailed notice pursuant to Town Code 36-414(b) & 36-362(b) were not complied with, as proven with public records requests .  Now the Superior Court of Dare County has ordered Wes Haskett and Southern Shores to provide a complete record of the Variance hearing within 30 days of December 18, 2024.  Wes Haskett and Town Council (who was also served) has refused to comply with the Dare County Superior Court.

Wes Haskett filed a lot width amendment on March 31, 2023 to prevent lot subdivisions.  Wes Haskett then did not properly notify property owners Haskett claims to have taken their right to subdivide from with posted notice.  Town Code 36-414(b) required property owners to be notified of subdividable property being rezoned as unsubdividable with posted notice in addition to the notification requirements of Town Code 36-414(a).  Now that Southern Shores claims to have taken the right to subdivide property without an eminent domain transaction (where the government pays the property owner for taking a right to the property) Southern Shores did not order Dare County to reduce taxes on all the properties they have reduced the value of by taking the right to subdivide.  Licensed realtors indicate subdividable property is worth more than unsubdividable property in Southern Shores. Intentionally overtaxing property violates law and Cliff Ogburn is currently refusing to use the Southern Shores town newsletter email list to inform property owners that they have had the value of their property reduced without a tax reduction.  With Southern Shores beaches disappearing faster than beach replenishment programs, can Southern Shores even afford to legally reduce taxable property value?

The snow fall on January 21, 2025 proved how incompetent the town manager Cliff Ogburn and deputy town manager Wes Haskett really are.  As other towns have ordinances requiring property owners to shovel their sidewalks and insurance companies often consider uncleared snow a liability/potential negligence, Southern Shores roads were a hazardous mess for days.  Days after the snow fell the intersections leading onto Duck Road where still slippery enough for vehicles to slide into Duck Road traffic when trying to stop. When snowplows cost about $5000 each for trucks similar to what the town owns, what could be more important to the town than keeping pedestrians and property owners safe from vehicles sliding out of control off the road?

On April 15, 2025 Southern Shores still did not have the proposed Town Code 36-414(c) zoning amendment published on their website and on April 16, 2025 the pictured misrepresentation of Town Code 36-414(c) was published after nearly one month of the proposed amendment being hidden. As of April 16, 2025 Southern Shores has not used the Southern Shores Newsletter to notify property owners of the proposed zoning amendment which may effect hundreds of thousands of dollars of Southern Shores property value. 

Southern Shore Town Hall is located at:

5375 N. Virginia Dare Trail

Southern Shores, NC 27949

(252) 261-2394

The Southern Shores Town Council will hear the proposed Zoning Amendment for Town Code 36-362(b) on July 8, 2025.

The Amendment which corrects Southern Shores' failure to properly notify property owners during the adoption of the June 6, 2023 lot width amendment (as law requires misconduct to be corrected) adds the following language to Town Code 36-362(b):    "Property owner(s) that have been effected by the March 31, 2023 lot width amendment without being notified with posted notice and/or mailed notice as a property subject to the zoning amendment prior to the May 15, 2023 hearing pursuant to Town Code Section 36-362(b) shall have 90 days from the adoption of this amendment to submit any applications to the Town seeking governance under the Town Code prior to the Amended Ordinance effectuated on June 6, 2023.  This section applies only to property owners who owned the property, were under contract to purchase the property, rented the property or occupied the property at the time the lot width amendment was adopted on June 6, 2023.