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Committee recommends broad zoning ordinance revisions including signage, smoke‑shop and EV rules
Summary
Hendersonville’s General Committee voted to forward to BOMA citywide zoning ordinance revisions (Ordinance 2025‑19) that update vesting rules, lot‑size standards in some neighborhoods, standards for smoke shops and EV charging, and a new approach to nonconforming signs.
The General Committee voted Sept. 9 to forward a package of citywide zoning ordinance revisions to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen with a positive recommendation. The draft ordinance (Ordinance 2025‑19) consolidates several changes to clarify vesting periods, increase certain minimum lot sizes in parts of the city, and tighten standards for commercial signage, smoke shops and electric vehicle charging stations.
Keith Reed, Planning Director, summarized the update as the third revision in about six years and said the changes ‘‘tidy everything up’’ and address priorities identified by the Planning Commission, BOMA and staff. Reed noted several headline items: clearer vesting rules that define how long approvals remain valid, increases in minimum lot sizes for SR‑3 and some Westlake/Dockside neighborhoods, new locational and conditioned‑use limits on smoke and vape shops, and standards for the placement and appearance of EV chargers.
“We're increasing some minimum lot sizes in our SR‑3 and Dockside neighborhood that are within our Westlake area,” Reed said. “We're making changes on that as well as in our multifamily, making those larger lot sizes larger if you were gonna do single family detached, in a in a multifamily.”
The revisions also tighten rules for nonconforming signage. Under the changes, certain nonconforming pole signs would be disallowed after a change of use and signs on vacant buildings could be declared abandoned after 90 days, creating a clearer path to require removal or replacement. Staff said the city has a program funded through the Westlake budget to pay up to 100% of the cost to remove qualifying nonconforming signs on vacant properties.
Committee members voted to forward the zoning ordinance revisions with a positive recommendation; the measure will return to BOMA for further consideration and any final adoption.
Why it matters
The changes affect how new projects, existing businesses and redevelopment in older commercial corridors are regulated. Clarified vesting periods reduce uncertainty for applicants and the city; signage and EV‑charger placement rules aim to improve the appearance and function of commercial sites; and conditioned‑use limits on smoke and vape shops change where those businesses can operate.
Next steps
The package will be on a future BOMA agenda for consideration. If BOMA adopts the ordinance, the Planning Department will implement the new standards and begin applying them to new applications and change‑of‑use reviews.
