[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6633611,"mediaKeyId","2663942-f749c75a86b14b1b529df6d033f5b858","parentId",2663942,"title","Leland staff propose fire code clarifications; council discusses open-burning limits and costs","audioSeconds",940,"startMs",7107000,"endMs",8047000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2663942-f749c75a86b14b1b529df6d033f5b858&start=7107&end=8047","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2663942-f749c75a86b14b1b529df6d033f5b858/thumbnail_7107000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6633611/Leland/Brunswick-County/North-Carolina/Leland-staff-propose-fire-code-clarifications-council-discusses-open-burning-limits-and-costs","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6633611-7edd1ab7926cd423d4c777aff66391ba/orig.mp4?Expires=1776236085&Signature=gKX6dAYOHFfaMQag2ujBe5JxvVjGQySHygfF35KyNp3KtdfOpfpm2Be3K94MDIUzBzjK8jd4kxuTt18Mw8bkDsP0N8WPazhSBRlINXoudHVRmjwzp5Rrlxyw7RMn5l0n8PmhK2rdm~QcZ4qnAJ4YOvONfPAD84xlI0rvqfH24HabLecM1lnJoTnSx69WQLeyJn0NBBEbqc9cKoh8ljmn-KKZSbreNIUjePsx-q790uYrpFhr99twuHZBkPDnJM1iItHUTzN0E426vxB6PbowfBrtdl5hzIXbN61hY0jA5ekuIhB7pw85ry6UqpAPTQ6DHLwagov4jmPx0SIQaWVb8w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Leland","date","2025-03-17T21:07:30.447Z","article","Town of Leland staff on Tuesday presented proposed amendments to the town's fire prevention rules and answered council questions about open burning and enforcement.

Daniel Knox, the town's chief building official, described targeted changes to the town's Fire Prevention Ordinance intended to align local language with the updated state and model fire code. The draft amendments would revise wording in several sections, clarify what constitutes a hazardous condition, make the town's existing policy explicit that buildings failing emergency responder radio coverage tests must install a system before any certificate of occupancy is issued, and change the marking color for required fire lanes from yellow to red to improve visibility.

Knox said the radio-coverage language is meant to avoid requests for temporary occupancy when life-safety systems have not been validated. \"This clarification is really... we've had some instances where there have been requests to get a temporary certificate of occupancy on a building without one, and so we want to make it clear, this is a life safety fire protection system,\" Knox said.

Council members asked about the choice of red for fire-lane markings. One councilmember summarized the reasoning during the discussion: \"The yellow kind of says, no, you can park here but be careful. The red says, don't park here.\" Staff said the change is intended to reduce confusion with other yellow traffic markings such as loading zones.

The presentation sparked a separate discussion about on-street parking opposite fire lanes near the Harris Teeter shopping area and the town's ability to address private property and access issues. Staff said they and the fire department will inspect and evaluate fire lanes in complex developments and, where necessary, engage property owners and the fire chief to resolve access problems.

Council also returned to a long-running conversation about open burning. A councilmember urged staff to explore whether the town could ban open burning inside municipal limits and asked staff to investigate the practical costs of providing vegetative debris pickup as an alternative. Staff said municipalities take different approaches: Wilmington runs its own program and can ban open burning within city limits; some smaller towns contract a third party and charge roughly $15 per household per month (about $180 per year) to cover vegetative pickup. Staff warned that even a municipal burn ban would not eliminate smoke originating outside town boundaries and that some state authority (Division of Forestry or state rules) still governs large-scale burn restrictions. The meeting also highlighted that state law limits local burn bans to within a specified distance from structures (commonly 100 feet), which constrains local reach.

Town staff and council members noted additional trade-offs: if developers cannot burn cleared vegetation on site, the material must be hauled away by truck, increasing heavy-vehicle traffic and wear on town streets. Staff also noted that the Division of Air Quality will only act if emissions cross enforceable state thresholds.

No formal ordinance change was adopted at the meeting. Staff said they will consult with the fire chief on specific fire-lane issues, continue drafting proposed code clarifications for the fire-prevention ordinance, and research options and costs for the vegetative pickup model council asked staff to explore.

Ending: Staff will return with more detailed draft language for the fire-prevention ordinance and with cost estimates and implementation options for an open-burning alternative; any change would return to planning and council for public hearings and formal votes.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Council Agenda Meeting - 17 Mar 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Building and fire officials proposed clarifying amendments to the town's fire-prevention provisions, including changing fire-lane markings from yellow to red and making emergency radio coverage requirements explicit. Council also discussed broader open-burning bans and the cost of townwide vegetative pickup as an alternative.","taxTitle","Leland, Brunswick County, North Carolina","taxId",54118,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6633615,"Leland council directs staff to draft tougher flood-plain rules, including expanded zones and higher elevation requirement",2767,8619000,11386000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2663942-f749c75a86b14b1b529df6d033f5b858&start=8619&end=11386","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2663942-f749c75a86b14b1b529df6d033f5b858/thumbnail_8619000.jpg","/articles/6633615/Leland/Brunswick-County/North-Carolina/Leland-council-directs-staff-to-draft-tougher-flood-plain-rules-including-expanded-zones-and-higher-elevation-requirement","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6633615-91c0da83ae57293fde9b881e31e6f60a/orig.mp4?Expires=1776236085&Signature=P6asm~PhgKvFNXWbXtMysvjc~847xbpn6Iz-UsGKcjdVfDG9WM1vj5qpSevjaeD4Lt6X8EXTmPpSFzr4xO4Wri5k8jg6gtkCnPkJJHg9PHJDqGbPqJYl7bfTlnqMBqC4-783KWlRcWEDiPx3UMdvwwKwheRdtWUlRd572yCqqua4kWXcmVJdwu7uZvfCgX~TeJ5SY9MSAPT~6z23iP~w5JWLsF3iAvgowdm5mobgUV7lhRGBIKsONCAoMhnH0~Zqjelh~vHQGAfC8pMrwRWo5aputqSICN3BAf6~V0LhPR8Q8vmUKXGmwtODZZpzDymEZrrP7PONdMQAH3u~mN4neQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Town of Leland council members on Tuesday directed staff to draft changes to the town's Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance that would extend the ordinance's reach and raise building standards in areas at risk of coastal and storm flooding.

Planning staff presented data showing hundreds of existing and proposed residential sites in FEMA-designated risk areas and walked council through regulatory tools used elsewhere to reduce flood risk. After discussion about legal and practical trade-offs, councilmembers asked staff to prepare ordinance language implementing four of five options the town outlined: expand the ordinance into the 500-year (shaded X) risk area, increase the town's freeboard requirement to four feet, add limits on density in mapped flood areas and prohibit the use of fill to raise lots in the most vulnerable places. Staff will bring proposed language back to the planning board and council for review.

The move follows staff analysis prepared in January showing roughly 155 residential structures wholly or partly within the 100-year (A/AE) flood zones and another 131 structures in the broader 500-year (shaded X) areas. Planning staff told council there are about 450 lots in preliminary plat or pending planning review that are wholly or partly in A/AE zones; three single-family units were permitted and under construction subject to the town's flood rules as of January.

The presentation also explained how the town determines whether a damaged structure must be upgraded to current standards. Under the town's procedures, a structure meeting the \"substantial damage\" threshold must be brought into compliance with the rules in effect at the time of rebuilding. Substantial damage can be found in two ways: a single event where repair cost exceeds 50% of a structure's market value, or an average per-event repair cost exceeding 25% over a 10-year rolling period. Planning staff said an elevation certificate or an appraisal can be submitted by a property owner to challenge the town's estimate.

Andrew Nelon, the town's floodplain administrator, described how the town estimates market value and repair costs for the substantial-damage calculation and how homeowners can submit contractor estimates or an appraisal to dispute the town's figures. \"What we have done in the past is essentially done an average of the home sales of the general area whenever there has been a flood damage area,\" Nelon said. \"If they feel that... the town's use of the FEMA custom damage estimating tool is not accurate, they can provide an appraisal to the pre-damaged state of the home.\"

Council members pressed staff on several implementation details: whether lots already platted but not yet built would be subject to new standards, how the town would handle inflation or post-determination cost increases, and whether prohibiting fill could run afoul of a state law enacted late last year that staff said creates some legal uncertainty. Planning staff advised that the legal effect of a ban on fill or an outright prohibition on new residential structures in flood zones could trigger state-level takings or down-zoning questions and recommended proceeding thoughtfully with legal review and public notice.

Staff also told council the town's current freeboard requirement is two feet above base flood elevation and that federal insurance savings diminish beyond roughly four feet of freeboard. Council members who supported raising the standard argued the safety and long-term risk reduction justified the change. Several members said they preferred a package of changes that moves the town toward more protective standards without immediately prohibiting all development in flood-prone areas.

On timing and compliance, staff said elevation and repair estimates are assessed at the time of each damaging event and that owners typically have about a year to rebuild under current procedures; the town retains the authority to require elevation certificates as needed. Staff also noted the town remains in the Community Rating System (CRS) program and that a full federal flood-audit review generally occurs every five years.

Council gave staff direction, not a formal vote, to draft ordinance language reflecting the four chosen options and return the draft to the planning board and council for consideration. Planning staff said they would consult with North Carolina Emergency Management and the town attorney as they prepare the ordinance language.

Community members, developers and property owners will have additional opportunities to comment on any proposed ordinance through the planning-board and council review process.

Ending: Council members described the decision as an incremental approach that allows the town to move toward more protective standards while staff completes the legal review and drafts specific ordinance language for formal public hearings and votes.","After a technical briefing, Leland council members asked staff to draft ordinance changes that would expand the town's flood damage controls into higher-risk areas, raise required building elevation, limit density in flood-prone land and prohibit use of fill on certain parcels.","actionData","errors"]

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Leland staff propose fire code clarifications; council discusses open-burning limits and costs

Leland council directs staff to draft tougher flood-plain rules, including expanded zones and higher elevation requirement