Johnston County adopts revised stormwater ordinance, effective Jan. 1, 2026, after hours of debate

The Johnston County Board of Commissioners voted 4–3 on Sept. 2 to adopt revisions to Article 7 (Stormwater Management) of the county Land Development Code, setting new design standards, inspection requirements and exemptions for small subdivisions. The board set an effective date of Jan. 1, 2026.

County Utilities Director Chandra Farmer presented the ordinance revisions, which staff and stakeholders have worked on since 2020. Farmer told commissioners the revisions respond to state stormwater requirements, an agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local concerns about downstream flooding and water-quality impacts. Key changes include a recommended minimum built-upon area of 6,000 square feet for new residential lots not served by public sewer; a change in required attenuation design storms to 1-in-25 years in most areas and 1-in-100 years in the Middle Creek/environmentally sensitive area under the Fish and Wildlife agreement; and exemptions from attenuation for subdivisions of 19 lots or fewer if the post-development runoff increase is less than 8…