Brunswick County reviews Unified Development Ordinance update as residents press for faster action on infrastructure

Michael Harvey, the lead consultant from InFocus Planning, told the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 15 that the county's Unified Development Ordinance update aims to consolidate land‑use rules into a single, modern document that implements the county’s recently adopted 2040 comprehensive plan.

The presentation outlined proposed new districts, revised subdivision review, and higher standards for stormwater, floodplain and open space. Harvey said the draft would create an agricultural and conservation district for rural areas, a major commercial overlay for Highway 17, and a heavy industrial overlay to cluster intensive industrial uses. He also recommended a 30% minimum open‑space standard for subdivisions and treating planned developments as conditional rezonings subject to legislative hearings.

"Our ultimate goal is to ensure that we are properly implementing your recently adopted comprehensive plan," Harvey said when describing the project's purpose and the relationship between the comp plan and a UDO.

Harvey told commissioners that the consultant team had proposed a series of changes to administrative review procedures, permit consolidation, and clarified staff authority to enforce the code. He said the team recommended raising minimum rights‑of‑way in new streets to 50 feet to allow future expansion and reduce ad‑hoc curb cuts along major corridors.

The consultant also flagged a practical constraint: since December 2024 the General Assembly has adopted, and continues to consider, statutory language that limits local governments' ability to "downzone" property or impose new on‑site design standards without owner consent. Harvey said the pending bills had forced him to pause and to prepare a "choose‑your‑own‑adventure" draft with options for the board and staff to consider.

At least four members of the public urged faster action to align development approvals with infrastructure capacity. Gene Vasile, president of the Alliance of Brunswick County Property Owners Associations, told commissioners the county had approved more than 13,000 residential units under an outdated ordinance and warned that delays were creating safety and capacity problems. In public comment he said, "This is a matter, truly a matter... of life and death." Residents also raised stormwater, traffic and fire protection concerns.

Commissioners pressed staff and the consultant on next steps and timetables. Several asked the planner to provide a clear list of UDO changes that could move forward now without creating legal nonconformities under current state law. Commissioner discussion produced a motion requesting staff return with options for shifting final legislative authority for plan‑level approvals to the board (rather than the planning board), including process diagrams showing current practice and proposed alternatives; that motion was approved by the board.

Harvey said InFocus would continue refining the draft, performing focus‑group outreach and returning to the planning board and the commission once staff had reviewed the chapters and the General Assembly's action was better known. He said Enfocus offers a two‑year warranty period to assist the county with post‑adoption amendments to respond to state law changes.

Why it matters: The UDO is the county's primary tool to implement its land‑use plan. Commissioners and residents framed the project as a test of whether approvals for subdivisions and planned developments will ensure adequate roads, stormwater systems and fire protection before new construction proceeds.

What’s next: Staff will compile the consultant draft, identify items that do not risk creating nonconformities under current state law, and return with options for where legislative approval authority should rest and how the review process would work if changed.