Carteret County approves two Morris Road rezoning requests to mobile-home district

The Carteret County Board of Commissioners approved two zoning map changes Oct. 20 that will reclassify a 4.25-acre parcel and a 0.8-acre parcel on Morris Road in the Swansboro ZIP code to the county’s planned mobile-home (MC) district.

Planning staff described the rezones as technical fixes to align the two parcels with adjacent MC zoning that already surrounds much of a roughly 36-acre mobile-home community. Matt Renell, interim planning director, told the board the parcels sit inside a “limited transition” future land-use designation that anticipates increased development over the next five to 10 years. The Planning Commission had recommended approval of both requests at its Sept. 8 meeting.

The applicant, Josh Edmonson of Tidewater Associates, said the rezoning would allow consistent development across the larger parcel and avoid a split-zoned tract. “We did submit the application to rezone,” Edmonson said. “We are seeking to do a potential development, and the planned mobile home district is a desirable category, as that is surrounding 36 acres.”

Several nearby residents spoke during two public hearings. Michael J. Mooney, who lives at 140 Morse Road, told commissioners the single-lane dirt road serving the parcels floods and can be impassable after storms; he said emergency vehicles have had difficulty reaching the area. “It’s a single lane dirt road. During Florence, it was closed for almost eight days,” Mooney said, urging the board to consider safety and traffic impacts before development proceeds.

Planning staff and the applicant said that if the rezoning is approved, any development would still need to complete site design and technical-review stages before building permits are issued. Staff noted road upgrades, stormwater and wastewater approvals, and review by the county technical review committee and the fire marshal would be required during the site-plan process; those reviews can require an all-weather travelway to county/NCDOT base standards and an 18–20 foot travelway in many cases.

Commissioner discussion was brief. The board voted to approve both rezoning requests and separately approved statements of plan consistency and reasonableness reflecting the Planning Commission’s finding that the requests would make the parcels consistent with surrounding zoning and would supply additional affordable housing options consistent with nearby uses.

The approvals change the official zoning but do not authorize construction; developers must still submit detailed plans and obtain required agency approvals before new units may be built.

Votes at a glance: - Rezoning, 4.25-acre parcel (Morris Road, Swansboro): Approved; motion recorded as moved by Commissioner Clark, seconded by Commissioner Waldrop. Planning Commission recommended 6–0. - Rezoning, 0.8-acre parcel (Morris Road, Swansboro): Approved; motion recorded as moved by Vice Chairman Mansfield, seconded by Commissioner Waldrop. Planning Commission recommended 6–0.