Plans for Surf City boat storage ongoing after annexation approval

With Surf City's access to the Atlantic Ocean, Intracoastal Waterway and other places for recreational activities, local entrepreneur Mike Ellis is looking forward to having a place for homeowners to park their boats and RVs.

Topsail Tide, LLC is working to finalize plans for a bot and RV storage facility with 46 parking spots. A rezoning request was presented by Charles F. Riggs & Associates on behalf of the Surf City-based business. The 1.4 acres of property is located on the east side N.C. 50 near Juniper Trail.

"We're looking to mostly service residents of Surf City," Ellis said.

In 2021, the applicant requested to be annexed into Surf City's town limits. It was approved in January 2022 by council members, but officials said the project would require new rezoning since it didn't meet qualifications as a by-right use for mixed use zoning.

More:Wilmington leaders make proposal for Topsail to join 3,000-mile East Coast recreation route

More:Saltwater Suites eyes expansion for second Topsail Island location

More:Surf City approves annexation to keep plans for popular recreation park alive

According to town officials, the property was previously under the jurisdiction of Pender County. Ellis said it's a big benefit to being in Surf City and officially being part of the local community.

"We're just a local family that wants to participate in Surf City," the 30-year-old said. "Nothing against Pender County, it's just that we want to support the city and the municipality itself. I'm just a young local entrepreneur trying to get started."

Surf City Planning board members recommended approval with certain conditions. Some of them included fencing outside the property boundary, no billboards, and a 10-foot vegetation buffer along the N.C. 50 frontage.

More:Is Amazon still coming to Pender amid reports of nationwide cutbacks?

"We are pro Surf City and we're young family business that's locally owned and operated," Ellis said. "We are local, we live here, so we really care about the town, and that's going to be reflected in the property and how we maintain it."

As a local entrepreneur, Ellis said he's planning to bring more businesses to Surf City.

A public hearing for the boat and RV storage is scheduled for Oct. 4 during a meeting for Surf City Commissioners.  If approved, the applicant will make minor site plan modifications to meet the requirements of the approval.

Reporter Chase Jordan can be reached at cjjordan@gannett.com.