Planners wrap up a three-night regional tour to restructure zoning rules and manage rapid coastal growth
By BC News Staff Writer
SHALLOTTE, NC — Brunswick County planners and community members wrapped up a vital series of public forums Thursday night, marking a major milestone in the county’s effort to completely modernize its local land-use and zoning guidelines.
The final community meeting, held on May 28 at the BSRI Senior Center in Shallotte, concluded a three-night regional tour led by county planning staff and consultants from N-Focus Planning. Previous sessions earlier in the week drew residents to St. James on Tuesday and Winnabow on Wednesday, allowing for widespread geographic feedback across the county.
The sweeping initiative, formally known as the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Modernization Project, aims to entirely restructure the county’s existing rules into a brand-new “Land Development Ordinance” (LDO). According to county documents, the overhaul is designed to align local zoning laws with modern development trends, secure legal compliance, and support the growth management goals originally established in the Blueprint Brunswick comprehensive land-use plan.
The new ordinance directly impacts unincorporated sectors of Brunswick County, alongside the City of Northwest. Municipalities maintaining their own independent zoning jurisdictions remain unaffected.
During the 90-minute presentations, officials detailed expanding mandatory design standards aimed at managing rapid regional growth. Key updates in the draft text include heightened rules for open space allocation, natural area preservation, perimeter property buffers, architectural standards, and enhanced pedestrian connectivity across new projects.
The road to finalization has not been without hurdles. County planners noted that the project, originally launched in the summer of 2024 with an anticipated 2025 completion timeline faced significant delays due to unexpected regulatory shifts at the state level.
The passage of Session Law 2024-57 (Senate Bill 382) by the North Carolina General Assembly imposed new, rigid statutory limitations on how local governments can alter zoning densities, reduce permitted uses, or inadvertently create nonconformities on non-residential parcels.
Brunswick County commissioners have previously expressed sharp concerns to state lawmakers regarding Senate Bill 382, noting that the legislation restricts the county’s ability to dictate its own land-use policies and ultimately complicated the structural rollout of the new LDO.
With the public input tour officially in the rearview mirror, the county’s established timeline shifts into a summer review phase. Throughout June, the draft ordinance will face scrutiny from dedicated stakeholder focus groups, the Brunswick County Planning Board, and county commissioners.
If the review phase stays on track, the text will be finalized in July ahead of an anticipated joint public hearing with the Planning Board and Board of Commissioners this August for final adoption consideration.
Residents who were unable to attend the May forums can still review the draft materials or submit questions directly to Planning Director Kirstie Dixon or Deputy Director Marc Pages via the county’s online planning portal.
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