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Pender County planning board backs conditional rezoning to expand Stagg Air Park hangars
Summary
The Pender County Planning Board voted to recommend approval of a conditional zoning map amendment to allow Stagg Air Park to add new hangars on about 30.93 acres. Staff recommended approval with conditions including parcel recombination and buffer maintenance; the matter moves to the Board of Commissioners for final action.
The Pender County Planning Board recommended approval of a conditional zoning map amendment for Stagg Air Park (case REZONE-2025-83) to rezone roughly 30.93 acres to permit expansion of the airport’s hangar area.
Planning staff presented the application as an expansion of a 38-year-old airport facility. Staff said airports are no longer permitted in the RA district via special use permit under the current Unified Development Ordinance, so the applicant sought a conditional zoning (conditional rezoning) to regularize and expand the existing airport-related use. Staff recommended approval and proposed five conditions, including dissolving the existing special use permit, recombining the several parcels that make up the airpark, and requirements to maintain and replace buffer vegetation if damaged.
Daniel Adams, Pender County planning staff, told the board the property sits about 1.5 miles south of the intersection of Whitestocking Road and Stag Park Road, that adjacent lots include homes with hangars, and that the proposal would place new hangars west of the current runway. Adams said buffers must be managed to avoid creating obstructions to aircraft. Applicant Ken McGee addressed the board and described the proposed hangar layout as primarily a nested format (tail-end-in layout) to maximize the number of hangars in the proposed footprint. McGee also described community outreach and aviation-related public events the airpark hosts.
A board member who said they lived within about a half-mile of the airpark spoke in favor of the expansion. After discussion the board moved, seconded and voted in favor of the conditional rezoning; the planning board chair said the recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of Commissioners for final review and approval (the staff presentation identified an upcoming commissioners’ meeting date of April 22 for final action).
If approved by the county commissioners, the conditional zoning district will replace the existing special use permit and will combine the several airpark parcels into a single parcel for the project. The conditions of approval included standard UDO compliance, recombination of parcels that would cross property lines for new hangars, and buffer maintenance to preserve vegetation that provides visual and noise separation for nearby residences.
The planning board’s recommendation does not itself authorize construction; any final approval, permit issuance and site improvements remain subject to the county’s land‑development permitting process and any other state or federal requirements that apply to airports and aviation facilities.
Votes at a glance: The planning board moved and seconded a finding that the proposal is consistent with the cited comprehensive‑plan policies; the motion passed and the recommendation will be transmitted to the Board of Commissioners for final action.
Ending: The file will return to the Board of Commissioners for final consideration; staff noted the conditional zoning would dissolve the prior special use permit and require recombination of parcels and buffer maintenance as conditions of approval.
