Commissioners pause proposed UDO text amendments; send letter urging state lawmakers to modify session law that limits local changes

Planning staff updated the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners on March 7 about three proposed Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) text amendments—transportation overlay zone (TOZ), tree/landscaping requirements and timing for transportation impact analyses (TIA)—and explained a recent state law change affects how those changes can be applied.

Kirsty, planning staff, told commissioners the UDO‑related amendments had been through multiple planning‑board reviews and a subcommittee, and that the most significant proposed changes (stronger buffers, higher landscaping requirements and new TOZ standards) could effectively constitute downzoning or create nonconformities under session law enacted in late 2024. She identified Senate Bill 382 (session law 2024‑57) as the changed state law that, as written, prevents local governments from decreasing density, reducing permitted uses or creating nonconforming nonresidential elements without the property owner’s consent.

Given the legal constraints and uncertainty about whether the General Assembly will repeal or modify the law, staff recommended integrating feasible elements of the proposals into a forthcoming full UDO rewrite. Commissioners debated alternatives, including (a) scheduling public hearings even if staff would recommend denial for items that conflict with state law, (b) withdrawing the current text amendments and directing staff to fold allowable elements into the new UDO, or (c) proceeding with constrained items that are not affected by state law.

The board ultimately voted to withdraw the pending text amendments and refer them to the UDO consultant for incorporation into the forthcoming code rewrite. Commissioners also instructed staff to send a letter to the county’s state legislative delegation and the General Assembly expressing the county’s concerns and requesting modification or repeal of the portions of session law 2024‑57 that restrict local zoning changes. Planning staff said a draft UDO is expected for staff review in the summer of 2025.

Why it matters: the action preserves staff time and avoids advancing changes that legal counsel believes would likely fail under current state law. It also signals local pushback to the General Assembly over a law that planning staff and commissioners told the board could curtail standard local zoning and landscaping updates.

What’s next: planning staff will send the letter to the county’s legislative delegation, and staff will prepare a staff‑level list of the specific text amendments that could proceed under current law for the board’s April meeting; the withdrawn amendments will be folded into the UDO process if and when state law permits.