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Planning director to propose temporary RV occupancy relief, fee waivers and floodplain moratorium after hurricane
Summary
Fletcher planning director Ruth Wood told the council she will bring a resolution next week to temporarily lift RV/camper occupancy limits for storm-displaced residents and to consider waiving modest zoning and floodplain permit fees; she also proposed a 6–12 month moratorium on new significant floodplain development while damage assessments proceed.
Ruth Wood, Fletcher’s planning director, told the Town Council she will bring a resolution next week to temporarily lift enforcement of the town’s RV and camper occupancy limits to help residents displaced by the recent hurricane. "I wanted to come in front of you, tonight to ... gauge your interest in bringing some kind of resolution before you next week to temporarily lift that restriction, which severely limits occupancy of a camper RV," Wood said.
The proposal includes three related elements: a temporary exemption to occupancy restrictions (Wood suggested 6–12 months, with council members leaning toward a 12-month period), a possible waiver of small zoning and floodplain permit fees, and a request to study a short moratorium on new significant development in designated floodplains. Wood said typical town permit fees are modest — roughly $25–$50 for some zoning actions and about $250 for a floodplain permit — and that waiving them would be a token measure to ease rebuilding costs.
Council members signaled support for fast action. One council member suggested a six-month exemption with an option to extend; the chair said he was comfortable with a straightforward 12-month window to reduce administrative follow-up for residents still displaced. "If they don't need it, they won't have to in 6 months," a council member said in arguing for a longer initial term.
On the moratorium, Wood framed the measure as a temporary pause to allow the town and its consultant, McGill Associates, to complete damage assessments and review floodplain standards. "We'd like to not have opportunity for much new development to come into the flood plain while we're dealing with that first thing," she said, adding the review could consider raising elevation requirements and restricting certain uses, such as multifamily housing or schools, in the floodplain.
Town staff and council emphasized the moratorium would need to comply with state law and that some approvals already issued could be legally protected. Wood said she would return in November with draft language and legal research about statutory authority and possible durations.
Next steps: Wood will draft a simple resolution for council consideration next week on the RV/camper occupancy relief and the permit-fee waiver; she also will return with a moratorium proposal and draft ordinance language in November.
Why it matters: The measures aim to reduce immediate burdens on displaced residents while the town completes damage assessments and coordinates with county permitting and FEMA processes. They also begin a policy discussion about whether Fletcher’s floodplain standards should be changed after an unusually severe storm.
