County manager recommends consolidating development ordinances rather than immediate adoption of paused UDO

Person County’s manager briefed commissioners on June 2 about options for addressing the county’s multiple development ordinances and recommended consolidating freestanding ordinances into the planning ordinance instead of immediately adopting the previously proposed Unified Development Ordinance (UDO).

The manager said he reviewed the county’s ordinances since joining in mid-February and identified nine separate development-related ordinances that create complexity and potential conflicts for staff and applicants. He presented four options: (1) adopt the UDO as previously proposed; (2) review the UDO and identify problematic areas for later revision; (3) consolidate many freestanding ordinances into the planning ordinance and make targeted corrections (the manager’s recommendation); or (4) take a lighter approach and update references and resolve conflicts across existing ordinances.

The manager recommended option three as a way to streamline processes, fix dated references to state agencies that have reorganized, and reduce barriers applicants face when different documents point to nonexistent departments or outdated procedures. Commissioners expressed support for a phased approach and suggested creating a stakeholder subcommittee, preserving needed UDO elements (for example, short-term housing provisions), and renaming the RC (rural conservation) district to RD (rural development) to better reflect allowed uses.

The manager said he planned to present the same information to the planning board at its next meeting to gather input and asked for feedback from commissioners about forming a working group. Commissioners generally supported a consolidated approach and discussed timing relative to hiring a permanent planning director.