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Pender County planners weigh allowing pervious surfaces for small commercial parking lots
Summary
Planners discussed a draft UDO change that would permit alternative surfacing (pervious concrete, porous asphalt, permeable pavers, turf/grass blocks and specified gravels) for small nonresidential parking areas to reduce runoff and lower site costs, while requiring design and maintenance plans and preserving ADA access.
Damien Buchanan, chair of the Pender County Planning Board, presided over a workshop discussion Tuesday where staff outlined proposed changes to the county’s servicing and surfacing standards for nonresidential development.
Virginia Norris, senior long-range planner, said the amendment would modernize standards and “introduce alternative surfacing materials such as pervious concrete, porous asphalt, permeable pavers” and turf or grass block systems as approved options for parking and access areas. Norris told the board the goal is to “provide more flexibility while promoting sustainable design practices.”
Board members focused on practical concerns: maintenance demands for porous pavement, how the county would verify long-term performance, and whether alternative materials would be ADA compliant. One planner noted porous pavements often require periodic vacuuming; another recommended an outcome-based performance standard tied to hydraulic conductivity rather than locking in specific products.
Staff said small parking lots — an illustrative threshold discussed was 20 spaces — could be eligible with an approved design and maintenance plan, but emphasized that any accessible spaces and routes must remain ADA-compliant. The planners also discussed gravel and geogrid systems and noted that the state has specific pervious-design definitions that engineers may need to certify during plan review.
Norris said staff will continue research on costs, long-term maintenance responsibilities and whether the county should adopt a numeric hydraulic-conductivity benchmark that would allow designers flexibility to meet performance targets. Next steps: draft ordinance language and bring a formal amendment to the board and then to the Board of Commissioners for adoption if approved.
