David Ward's family has spent more than $80,000 to prevent Tim Ward, his distant cousin, from building a marina next door.

Tim Ward wants to build Carolina Marina and Yacht Club on Burnett Road near the Intracoastal Waterway. His plans include about 200 dry dock boat slips, fueling services, a club house and a restaurant. He said it will provide sorely needed access to the water.

But David Ward, who owns the property next door, doesn't want it there because it will create noise and pollute an area teeming with wildlife, he said.

The Wards take their dispute before the New Hanover County commissioners Monday. The commissioners will vote on a text amendment that would either prohibit or restrict future dry boat storage in residential neighborhoods.

David Ward submitted a text amendment request to the county planning department to prohibit dry boat storage facilities in residential areas. He said he's been fighting against the marina for five years and has spent thousands on legal fees and other costs to battle the project.

The county planning board rejected David Ward's proposal in December. Instead, the board recommended some conditions that would protect homeowners while allowing dry dock storage if a property owner seeks it as part of a special use permit, said county Planning Director Chris O'Keefe. The proposed conditions include setbacks from residential property lines and designs that limit noise.

County officials don't want to entirely prohibit dry storage in marinas because many new waterfront subdivisions might include them in the future, O'Keefe said. Plus, he said the county recognizes a need for more water access along the quickly developing waterfront.

"The county has a need for more access and more places for people to keep their boats, especially in new subdivisions," O'Keefe said.

Tim Ward said his family has held a permit for the marina since 1971 and has unsuccessfully tried a number of times in the past few years to amend the permit to include dry storage facilities. He said he supports the additional conditions and will be able to meet them.

He hopes to start construction in April and open in late spring or early summer, but he still has to obtain an amended special use permit to include a dry storage facility.

For his part, David Ward said he prefers a complete elimination of dry storage from residential areas, but he will take whatever protections he can get. Still, he's not sure if the text amendment would prevent his cousin from building his marina.

"I'm not sure how it would pan out for us, but it would definitely help some of the neighborhoods," David Ward said. "I would hate to see anyone in this county go through what we've gone through. It's not a self-purpose thing. We've done it for the good of the whole county."