The Town of Kill Devil Hills is blessed with natural features and a rich history that is treasured by residents and visitors alike. The town's boundaries largely follow two of these natural features: the Atlantic Ocean on the east, and Albemarle Sound on the west. Positioned on the flat, narrow thread of land between these two waterways, the town confronts peculiar challenges with respect to the use of land. One such challenge is balancing the need to transmit electricity along the entire length of the town against the recreational, historical and esthetic values of this barrier island community. The Kill Devil Hills Board of Commissioners find that establishing a single corridor for all above-ground electrical transmission lines within the town accommodates these competing factors. In addition to the foregoing, the Kill Devil Hills Board of Commissioners declares the purposes and intent of this subchapter to be as follows:
(A) To preserve and enhance scenic views of the Ocean, the Sound, the Wright Brothers' National Park and other natural and historical venues;
(B) To prevent the proliferation of unsightly overhead transmission lines, towers and related structures;
(C) To encourage the co-location of overhead transmission lines;
(D) To protect the environment;
(E) To safeguard and enhance property values and to protect public and private investments;
(F) To preserve and protect the unique identity of the town and the economic base attracted to the town by such factors: and
(G) To ensure that utility providers desiring to transmit electrical power through the use of above-ground transmission lines, towers and related improvements have a clearly-defined procedure for locating and relocating such improvements.
(Ord. 06-20, passed 8-14-06; Am. Ord. 18-4, passed 6-14-21)