By LEE HINNANT

What Lake Waccamaw town officials thought would be a simple request for a variance allowing a landowner to move a house has led to a startling discovery about zoning rules.

In the western half of town, more than 400 lots – 70 percent – do not have the requirement minimum area for building even a small house.

A 2005 rule change provided a permanent “grandfather clause” allowing most existing homes to be rebuilt if they are destroyed by storms or fire. But landowners who are developing vacant lots or tearing down older houses have suddenly discovered they are in deep trouble with current zoning restrictions.

“It’s not a small issue we’re dealing with here,” said Town Manager Darren Currie.

Most of the lots along Canal Cove Road and Waccamaw Shores are zoned R-10, meaning they are for single-family residential use and must have at least 10,000 square feet of area. Zoning requirements date back to 1971. The latest amendment in 2005 provided a permanent “grandfather clause” that allows replacement of damaged homes on lots that are too small, so long as the replacement houses are the same size. When lot lines are redrawn, or if a vacant lot is developed, the 10,000-square-foot minimum applies. It also applies when someone tears down an existing house, Currie said.

The issue arose when Phil and Carolyn McPherson applied for a zoning letter to move a stick-built house onto their second-row lot at Waccamaw Shores. Like many lots in the area, it has 50 feet of road frontage. The depth of their property is roughly 145 feet, giving the couple 7,250 square feet.

That, Currie said, was not enough to meet the zoning rule, although the house would easily meet the rules about being away from the front, back and side lines – called setbacks. Currie said when he turned McPherson down, he advised the landowner to seek a variance from the town’s Board of Adjustment. Currie said he also checked with the town’s contract planner, Don Eggert of the Cape Fear Council of Governments.

“I thought it was just a few lots,” Currie said.

Using Columbus County’s Geographic Information Systems data, officials learned that about 7 out of 10 lots from Canal Cove Road west to the town limits do not have 10,000 square feet. That number includes small parcels designed for lake access and parcels that provide extra yard space for existing houses. Still, it means that hundreds of lots zoned for residential use are out of compliance. “I had no idea it was this big,” Currie said.

Another landowner on Canal Cove Road hit the same wall after tearing down an existing house. A real estate appraiser attempting to set a value on the land discovered it wasn’t possible to build a house there, Currie said.

“Right now, they can’t put anything on it,” Currie said. “For all intents and purposes, the lot is pretty much useless, the way it is written right now.” Even a shed would not be allowed because accessory buildings have to be on lots occupied by a main residence, he said.

“What’s killing everybody is they’ve got the width but they don’t have the lot depth,” Currie said.

“We’ve been in limbo all summer,” McPherson said.

The members of the Board of Adjustment are the same as the Planning and Zoning Board at Lake Waccamaw. Sitting as the Planning Board, they recommended that Town Council change the zoning ordinance. The change would essentially state that houses would be allowed as long as they meet the existing side, back and front setbacks and the height restriction of 35 feet.

Currie said he supports the change, which will be the subject of a public hearing at the Sept. 12 council meeting at 7 p.m. The change helps preserve the value of the land and is in keeping with the intent of the zoning rules, he said.

“I feel like once the council sees all the data, they’ll agree with it,” Currie said.

The issue is not as important in the central part of town and along Lake Shore Drive and Bella Coola Road, Currie said. Most residential lots there are larger and fall under R-15 or R-20 zoning, he said.