"Figure 8 Office & Maintenance Building." That is the name on item Z26-11 in the New Hanover County Planning Board's October 1, 2026 hearing notice. Design Solutions filed the request on behalf of David Kellam, manager of Figure 8 Beach HOA, Inc. It asks to rezone about 2.21 acres of a 6.72-acre parcel at 1275 Edgewater Club Road from R-20 Residential to conditional Community Business zoning, for "Offices for Private Business and Professional Activities." The StarNews reported that the rezoning could allow new facilities to serve the island. The parcel sits between Beachcomber Court and Final Landing Lane.
Most homeowners associations don't need a mainland office and maintenance building that goes through a county rezoning. On Figure Eight Island, the association does the work a town government would do. For a buyer, that changes what the purchase price covers. You are buying a lot, and you are also joining a group of owners who fund their own bridge, roads, channel dredging and shoreline work.
A Town's Job List, Owned by an Association
Figure Eight Island's 2020 Declaration of Covenants classifies the roads, the bridges, the beach-access tracts and other association property as Common Elements, and it makes the HOA responsible for managing and maintaining them. The cost of that upkeep is a common expense. It is split among lots through the annual assessment or another authorized assessment, and the Declaration allows four kinds: general, benefited, special and emergency. The association can also treat contracted security and similar services as common expenses.
The swing bridge across the Intracoastal Waterway shows what this looks like in practice. The current span was installed in 1980. In 2007, StarNews described it as maintained by the HOA, staffed around the clock and opening for boat traffic. That report put the cost of installing the bridge and its access road at nearly $1.5 million. Here, the gears, the tender schedule and the eventual replacement are all owners' costs.
The same Declaration authorizes the Board to adopt rules restricting use of the common areas to owners, their families, lessees and guests, and to limit how many guests can be called onto the island without an owner. That authority to control access is why buyers want the island. The next section looks at how that access structure intersects with public beach funding.
How Public Beach Funding Works
New Hanover County's town beaches rely on a cost-sharing system with several layers. A March 2023 Army Corps of Engineers project sheet lists the Carolina Beach portion of the county's project as 50 percent federal and 50 percent non-federal, and the Kure Beach to Fort Fisher reach as 65 percent federal and 35 percent non-federal. The same sheet says local hotel-occupancy-tax revenue is dedicated to the non-federal share. The most recent round on Pleasure Island started before Thanksgiving 2025 and finished in Kure Beach by April 2026.
Federal participation in beach projects has historically depended on public access. In 2002, the Corps' Wilmington District told coastal towns it wanted a public pathway from beach to street every half-mile and public parking every quarter-mile in exchange for federal money. Figure Eight Island is a private island whose Board can restrict its common areas to owners and their guests, and that makes the standard hard to meet. Our research found no official ruling that formally excludes the island. The structure explains the outcome on its own terms.
State programs run through government sponsors. North Carolina's Coastal Storm Damage Mitigation Fund guidelines for FY 2023-24 name a unit of local government as the eligible applicant and require a one-to-one non-state match. Shallow-draft dredging grants also need a local-government sponsor. The statute names Rich Inlet and Mason Inlet among eligible channels but does not mention Nixon Channel, the one the HOA dredges.
| Who carries the cost | Carolina and Kure Beach | Figure Eight Island |
|---|---|---|
| Beach access | Public | Set by HOA Board rules, which may limit it to owners, families, lessees and guests |
| Sand placement | Corps project with a federal share of 50 to 65 percent | Organized by the HOA |
| Local share | Hotel-occupancy-tax revenue | Owner assessments under the Declaration |
| Bridge and roads | Public | HOA Common Elements |
How the Budget Played Out in 2026
The past year shows how the association handles shoreline and infrastructure work on its own. In order:
- February 25. Meeting in Atlantic Beach, the Coastal Resources Commission gave the owners of 21 north-end properties a variance for a sandbag revetment 40 feet wide at the base and 12 feet high. That is larger than normally allowed. The revetment will cross two HOA-owned accessways and connect to existing sandbag structures at Rich Inlet.
- The dredge permit. Coastal Review reported that the HOA holds a permit to dredge Nixon Channel, which typically produces about 250,000 cubic yards of beach-compatible sand, and plans to place that sand on the north end. The dredging was "expected to occur in November." Since the article ran in February 2026, November 2026 is the likely date, though no contractor or start date has been published.
- September 5. The HOA scheduled its 2026 annual members' meeting for 9:00 a.m. at the Yacht Club.
- September 24 and October 1. The rezoning for the Figure 8 Office & Maintenance Building became public, followed by its Planning Board hearing. We have not found a published outcome, so the request should be treated as pending.
In a municipality, each of these items would go through a town budget. On Figure Eight they come from permits, member meetings and Declaration-authorized assessments.
The North End Sets the Pace
According to Coastal Review, the north end goes through cycles of erosion and accretion as Rich Inlet moves, and the channel's position has been unfavorable since 2022. The HOA has dealt with this for decades. A 2015 engineering report prepared for the HOA counts six north-end nourishment projects between 1993 and 2011, and the Corps' supplemental EIS puts the total moved from Nixon Channel to the north end since 1993 at approximately 1.75 million cubic yards. Nixon Channel was the source in November 2005, February 2009 and early 2011.
The longer-term costs appear in modeled figures from the environmental review. In a 30-year no-action scenario, the Corps documents estimate $21.1 million to $29.0 million for eight to eleven nourishment events, depending on the shoreline baseline, plus $1.2 million for sandbagging. These are model outputs, not invoices. The owners have voted on one large capital decision before. More than a decade ago, they rejected a special assessment to build a terminal groin at Rich Inlet. The HOA is now working with the Army Corps on a supplemental environmental impact statement for a long-term Rich Inlet management plan, which includes a 30-year beach nourishment permit.
For a buyer, this history is the HOA's record of capital decisions. It shows how owners have voted on large expenses and what the association is planning. That planning affects every lot on the island, not only oceanfront lots on the north end.
What to Request Before Writing an Offer
You won't find current dues or past assessment amounts on public pages. The bylaws give the Board responsibility for the annual budget and assessments, and annual expense accounts go to Members rather than the public. Detailed information on the association's website is limited to members. The contract stage is when you get these answers, so build time for them into your due diligence period:
- The current annual assessment and the most recent annual expense accounts
- Any special, benefited or emergency assessments in recent years, with the votes that approved them
- How the Nixon Channel dredging and north-end placement are being paid for
- Reserves or plans for the swing bridge, which has been in service since 1980
- Where the Rich Inlet management plan and its 30-year permit stand
- What the proposed Edgewater Club Road building will contain, and whether it adds to the budget
If the property is on the north end, also ask the seller whether the lot is one of the 21 covered by the February variance and how its share of the revetment was handled. Our earlier piece on whether to renovate or sell as-is on Figure Eight Island covers the property side of that same decision. Our Wrightsville Beach bulkhead analysis looks at the opposite arrangement, where a town's tax rate determines how fast shoreline work moves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does New Hanover County's occupancy-tax beach money go to Figure Eight Island? StarNews coverage of the county's dedicated beach-nourishment allocation named Wrightsville, Carolina and Kure beaches. Figure Eight Island was not on that list. We found no current document that addresses the island's eligibility directly.
Who maintains the Figure Eight Island bridge? The association does. Bridges are Common Elements under the 2020 Declaration, and maintenance costs are shared among lots through assessments.
Has the Edgewater Club Road rezoning been approved? It was heard at the Planning Board's October 1, 2026 meeting. As of early October we have not found a published decision or a date for a County Commissioners hearing.
On Figure Eight Island, the HOA's budget is part of the price of the house, and we read association documents as closely as we read floor plans and pilings. Mark Batson and the Tongue & Groove team can go through the assessment history, the bridge and shoreline plans, and the renovation costs of a specific Figure Eight Island property with you, so you know the full carrying cost before you commit. Book a Valuation or start with our Figure Eight Island guide.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.