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Commissioners approve zoning text amendment to allow pet crematoriums in business and industrial zones
Summary
The Board approved a text amendment to Section 3,400 of the Carteret County zoning ordinance to permit pet crematoriums in B-1, LIW and IW districts; planning commission had unanimously recommended approval.
The Carteret County Board of Commissioners voted to amend Section 3,400 (the table of permitted and special uses) of the county zoning ordinance to allow pet crematoriums as a permitted use in the B-1 (General Business), LIW (Light Industrial Wholesale) and IW (Industrial Wholesale) zoning districts.
Greg Hartman, interim planning director, explained that applicants Marcy Godwin and Julian Davis, owners of Mitchell Village Animal Hospital, are pursuing the change because they have had difficulty finding parcels in unincorporated Carteret County where a crematorium would be permitted. Hartman noted the Planning Board voted 7–0 on March 10, 2025, to recommend approval of the amendment.
Laura Montocchio of Keller Williams Crystal Coast spoke on behalf of the applicants, reiterating the community need and that the closest pet crematorium is in New Bern. Commissioners asked whether applicants currently had property under contract; Hartman said they did not. Commissioners also asked about environmental regulation and were told state regulations apply to the operation.
Vice Chairman Mansfield moved to approve the text amendment; Commissioner Quinn seconded the motion. The board voted in favor. The board also approved a plan-consistency statement, stating the amendment is consistent with the county’s land use plan; the Planning Commission’s unanimous recommendation and a staff finding that the proposed use is less intensive than some currently allowed uses were cited during the consistency finding.
The amendment changes the zoning table to add pet crematoriums as a permitted use in the three named commercial and industrial districts. The board did not record any additional conditions or a local environmental permitting process beyond the statement that state regulation applies to crematorium operations.
No formal enforcement or licensing steps beyond state-level regulation were adopted at this meeting; the change to the county zoning ordinance takes effect according to the county’s ordinance amendment procedures.
