Belmont schedules March 3 public hearings on watershed and stormwater ordinance revisions

City staff presented proposed revisions intended to tighten Belmont's rules for watershed protection and citywide stormwater controls and the council voted to set public hearings for March 3, 2025.

The proposed changes would clarify how the city calculates low- and high-density development, set grandfathering benchmarks for older development, expand city jurisdiction for stormwater review, add stream buffers and require detention for larger storm events. A staff presenter said, "Anything that was built before 1993 is basically grandfathered in," and recommended using 1993 as a benchmark so later additions count toward density limits.

Why it matters: council members said the revisions would close loopholes that have allowed repeated additions to avoid stormwater requirements and would bring parts of the city now under Gaston County's phase-2 rules under city review. Staff said the state updated guidance in March 2023 and the city should align its language; the state review will also be required for the stormwater ordinance as part of MS4 permitting.

Key proposals and details: staff described three substantive changes. First, density: the ordinance would clarify low density using whichever is more restrictive between 24% impervious cover or two dwelling units per acre; critical and protected area caps (50% and 70% impervious) would remain. Second, buffers and detention: the draft adds a 30-foot undisturbed buffer for perennial streams and a 15-foot buffer for intermittent streams, and proposes detention requirements for 2- and 10-year storm events in addition to water-quality treatment. Third, a new threshold would trigger city stormwater review for developments that add 20,000 square feet of impervious surface even when the parcel is smaller than one acre; staff said Gastonia adopted the same 20,000-square-foot threshold.

Council questions focused on oversight and discretion. One council member said removing the Watershed Review Board could "give up" a layer of discretionary review and urged staff to clarify what powers would move to administrators; another asked for a memo spelling out the decision-making authority that would change if the board is removed. Staff replied that appeals would go to the board of adjustment and that engineered calculations from design professionals would inform administrative recommendations.

Formal action: the council voted to set a public hearing on the Watershed Protection Ordinance and on the stormwater-ordinance revisions for March 3, 2025. The motion to set the watershed hearing was "made by Alex, seconded by Charlie" and the motion to set the stormwater hearing was "made by Alex, seconded by Jason." Both motions were approved with verbal "aye" votes.

What happens next: staff will circulate clarified language and definitions ahead of the March hearing (engineers and reviewers recommended adding explicit definitions for terms such as "impervious" and specifying which storm-duration standard is used). The stormwater draft also will require state review under MS4 permitting before final action.