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Staff outlines zoning-code rewrite timeline, conditional zoning and warns residents about permit scams
Summary
City planning staff updated the board on progress drafting a new zoning code (including conditional zoning), outreach plans and Historic Preservation Commission focus groups, and warned the public about scam emails targeting permit applicants; staff said conditional zoning will be included in the draft and office hours and outreach are planned in November and January.
City planning staff provided extended updates about an ongoing zoning-code rewrite and related outreach.
Staff said a land-use consultant will be in town for meetings in early November to continue drafting the new code and that the team has completed about half of the zoning map work to this point. Staff said they are extracting legally viable overlay provisions and embedding them in proposed new districts and that conditional zoning — a process that allows a property owner to request a site-specific, negotiated set of conditions and an associated site plan — is being drafted for inclusion in the new code.
Staff also announced public outreach opportunities: a Historic Preservation Commission survey running through November 30 and two focus-group meetings in early November at Stanley White Recreation Center and West New Bern Recreation Center, with presentations and facilitated table discussions. Staff asked board members to expect a summary presentation in January and noted that legislative action would follow in the spring.
Finally, staff warned that scammers have targeted permit applicants with emails asking for wired payments; staff emphasized the city will never ask residents to wire money for permits and directed applicants to the city website and WITN notice for guidance.
