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Planning director outlines zoning tools to support affordable housing
Summary
Beaufort County planning director Rob Merchant briefed the committee on existing tools (density bonuses, traditional community plans, ADUs, transect/place-type overlays, family-compound and rural small-lot options) that staff can refine to promote affordable housing; Merchant cited a prior NextLoft conversion that used density bonuses tied to 25% of units kept affordable for 20 years.
Rob Merchant, Beaufort County planning director, gave the committee an overview of zoning and code tools staff see as available to promote affordable housing. He framed the comprehensive plan’s housing chapter as the county’s policy guide and urged a multi-tool approach rather than relying on a single remedy.
Merchant described current code mechanisms including density bonuses in the C5 regional center mixed-use district (citing a conversion…
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