Hampstead residents present petition to pause new permits; planning staff says state moratorium rules narrow

Nearly 1,000 residents have signed a petition asking Pender County elected officials and planning bodies to pause approval of new developments and density increases in Hampstead until two years after the new bypass is in full use.

The petition, introduced during public comment at the Aug. 1 Pender County Planning Board meeting, requests an immediate temporary ban on issuing permits or approving zoning changes that increase density. The petitioner asked the planning board to consider endorsing the request and to pass it to the Board of County Commissioners for action.

The petition prompted a staff response in which Daniel Adams, Pender County planning director, told the board that state law constrains local governments’ ability to impose growth moratoria. Adams said moratoria are permitted only under “very specific circumstances,” such as a demonstrable public-safety or sewer-capacity emergency, and that any moratorium must include a plan showing when and how the county would lift the restriction. He also noted that a moratorium would not stop projects already approved or applications already pending.

Petitioners told the board the main concerns motivating the petition are traffic congestion and public safety on Country Club Drive and other local roads, especially as new subdivisions are built. One commenter said the bypass segment that would relieve traffic in Hampstead is not expected to be complete until 2027 for the segment from Highway 210 to U.S. 17 and 2030 for the segment connecting Military Cutoff Extension to Highway 210, citing a DOT update reported to the planning staff.

Board members replied that road construction and traffic control on state highways are the responsibility of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, not county government, and that the county’s authority to require road improvements on state-maintained routes is limited. Adams reiterated that while the county can relay constituent concerns to NCDOT, the department has final authority over state roads and driveway permits.

The planning board did not take formal action on the petition at the meeting. Members instead received the petition and the staff explanation of legal limits on local moratoria and the separate jurisdiction of NCDOT over state road improvements.

Community members who spoke during public comment included residents living on Old Point Road, Country Club Drive and neighboring developments; they described daily delays, crashes and safety concerns. Adams and other staff encouraged residents to continue working with county staff and to participate in Technical Review Committee (TRC) meetings that review engineering submissions when projects move forward, noting the county will mail notices to property owners within 500 feet of subsequent submittals.

The petition will be presented to the Board of County Commissioners by petitioners separately; the planning board made no recommendation at this meeting.