Onslow County shifts burden of proof for electronic gaming applications to applicants

The Onslow County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 6 approved ZTA 2024-4, a text amendment to the county zoning ordinance that removes a requirement that applicants for electronic gaming operations submit a letter of determination from the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office and instead places the burden on applicants to demonstrate compliance with applicable North Carolina statutes.

County planning staff said the change is meant to put the responsibility for proving legality on applicants and to reduce operational strain on the sheriff’s office. “The proposal is to amend the application requirements for an electronic gaming operations use,” Carter Metcalfe, planning staff, told commissioners during the hearing, summarizing the amendment to section 9.12 of the zoning ordinance.

Metcalfe said the planning board reviewed the item on Nov. 7 and voted unanimously to recommend approval. No members of the public signed up to speak during the county’s public hearing on the item.

During discussion, Commissioner Bennett asked who would determine whether an applicant’s compliance plan met legal standards. Metcalfe said the county would coordinate review with legal staff and, where appropriate, representatives from the sheriff’s office. “That’s something that we would obviously get with Mr. DeSelmes on, to review that as well as any sort of applicable individuals with the sheriff’s office at that time,” he said.

Commissioners voted to approve the amendment with no recorded opposition. The record does not show a roll-call tally by name.

Why it matters: The zoning change shifts the administrative burden from the sheriff to private applicants and formalizes a route for the county to review compliance plans. County staff said the sheriff had been receiving requests to test devices and that the change would reduce that operational pressure.

What’s next: The board authorized the chairman to sign the documents needed to implement the amendment.