Oak Island recesses council meeting after public hearing on potential hotel lasts nearly 4 hours

OAK ISLAND, NC (WWAY) — Hundreds of people came out to the Town of Oak Island’s council meeting on Monday night as leaders discussed the possibility of a new hotel being built on the island.

The proposed hotel complex called Boardwalk Place would sit on the corner of Third Place East and East Dolphin Drive. In addition to a 106-room hotel, the property would feature a restaurant, retail space, and a wildlife sanctuary boardwalk.

Residents came out in full force for the discussion; filling up all the seats in council chambers, standing along the walls and out in the hallway. Some of the main concerns shared during the meeting surrounded public safety.

“Looking from the traffic generated from a hotel is woefully less than the traffic generated from the as of right uses that are on this property of as of right uses that are permitted of the 72 that we could choose from,” Boardwalk Place Project Scott Stewart said.

“It will be detrimental to endanger public health, safety, and general welfare. Accessing the beach will not be orderly and safe because of the sheer volume of people. The project will not be in harmony with residential zoning with surrounding single-family homes,” Resident and Former Comprehensive Land Use Plan Committee Chair Kelly Jermaine said.

After nearly four hours, council recessed the entire meeting, not just the public hearing, until March 20. It will begin at 4 pm with the public hearing scheduled to start at 6 pm.