Does THE TOWN need A New TOWN MANAGER & DEPUTY MANAGER?

---

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).

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?

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.  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 requirements were complied with when posted notice pursuant to Town Code 36-414(b) was not posted.  Now the Superior Court of Dare County has ordered Wes Haskett to provide a complete record of the Variance hearing within 30 days of December 18, 2024.  Wes Haskett 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 Planning Board will hear the proposed Zoning Amendment for Town Code 36-414(c) on April 21, 2025 and Town Council will vote on the Amendment at the Town Council meeting following the Planning Board's recommendation, which they have 30 days to make. 

Watch closely to see how long it takes Southern Shores to vote on an Amendment to correct victimization of property owners by making zoning code changes without notifying the property owner pursuant to Town Code 36-414(b).