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Planning board recommends limits on accessory-structure size, adds clarity for tiny homes
Summary
The board recommended amendments to limit accessory structures generally to 10% of lot area (with district-specific adjustments) and to cap single accessory structures at 10,000 sq ft; members also adjusted RA 20/RA 40 treatment to address tiny-home situations.
The Moore County Planning Board voted to recommend a Unified Development Ordinance amendment to set maximum sizes for accessory structures by zoning district and to add clarifying language on what counts as a single structure.
Staff said the proposed amendment would generally limit the total area of accessory structures to 10% of gross lot area in several zoning districts (RA, RE, RA2, RA5, B1, B2, VB and industrial districts), while retaining a 100%-of-principal-structure cap in RA20 and RA40 under the draft. Staff noted the board of commissioners asked for a maximum size and staff looked at neighboring counties for guidance; staff proposed a 10,000 sq ft per single residential accessory-structure cap and a 20,000 sq ft cap for nonresidential accessory structures, with watershed and floodplain rules still applying.
Board members pressed on measurement conventions (including whether overhangs count) and on unintended results for tiny houses on small principal structures. One member asked whether a 560 sq ft tiny house would constrain accessory storage to the same size; staff confirmed that under the RA20/RA40 approach that would be the case, prompting members to propose changes. The board ultimately moved to recommend approval with edits: include the word "single" so any single accessory structure cannot exceed 10,000 sq ft, and modify RA20 and RA40 to use the 10% of lot-size approach rather than a 100% principal-structure cap. The motion passed by voice vote.
The planning department will draft the finalized language for the Board of Commissioners to consider; the transcript does not record the commissioners' final vote.
