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Planning board recommends childcare and resubmission ZTAs to commissioners, adopts 2026 calendar and shortens public comment
Summary
The Pender County Planning Board recommended two state‑required zoning text amendments—updating family childcare home capacity to match state law and removing mandatory resubmission waiting periods—and adopted the 2026 meeting calendar. The board also shortened individual public comment to two minutes going forward.
At its December meeting the Pender County Planning Board moved unanimously to forward two zoning text amendments to the county commissioners and adopted several procedural items including the 2026 meeting calendar and a change to public comment time limits.
Senior Planner Virginia Norris presented the first amendment (ZTA 2025‑32), which updates the county’s UDO definition and capacity for family childcare homes to reflect recent North Carolina statutory changes that allow up to 10 children rather than the county’s prior limit of 8. Norris said the change aligns the UDO with state licensing rules and supports local entrepreneurs and childcare accessibility. The board voted to recommend the amendment to the county commissioners with a standard plan consistency statement.
Norris then presented ZTA 2025‑33, a second update to remove mandatory waiting periods for resubmitted development applications. She explained that NC General Statute 160D‑601(e) prohibits counties from imposing mandatory resubmission waiting periods after formal denial; staff’s proposed update removes the county’s waiting‑period language to ensure legal consistency. The planning board moved to recommend the change and explicitly incorporated the statutory citation into the amendment language before voting in favor.
In other business, staff presented a draft 2026 meeting calendar. The board discussed a few date conflicts and adopted the calendar with a change moving the November meeting to Wednesday, Nov. 4, to avoid election‑day conflicts. The board also voted to shorten individual public comment from three minutes to two minutes going forward and to retain five minutes for group representatives.
What happens next: both zoning text amendments will be scheduled for public hearing and consideration by the Pender County Board of Commissioners. The planning board’s calendar and public comment procedure updates take effect for upcoming meetings; staff will notify the public of the new comment time limit and meeting schedule.
