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Sunset Beach planning board backs parking‑rule overhaul, proposes landscaping trade‑off to limit asphalt
Summary
The Planning Board advanced a proposed amendment to eliminate minimum parking requirements for non‑residential development and required that half of any area freed by reduced parking be reserved as landscaped open space (board asked staff to tie that requirement to parking‑lot landscaping standards); the draft will go to Town Council for public hearing.
The Sunset Beach Planning Board voted Aug. 21 to forward a draft amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance that would remove minimum parking requirements for non‑residential uses and replace lost public landscape with a proposed preserved landscape trade‑off.
Under the board's direction, staff will refine language for paragraph P that would require 50% of the area saved by reduced parking to be designated as landscaped open space and cross‑referenced to the UDO's parking‑lot landscaping standards. The board discussed setting a practical minimum dimension for that open space (an 8‑ft width was proposed) and applying planting standards (one tree and multiple shrubs per defined area) so the reserved area provides meaningful plantings rather than thin strips of turf.
Why it matters: the amendment aims to reduce impervious parking footprints in commercial and mixed‑use areas to encourage development while maintaining or increasing tree canopy and permeable ground cover. The change would alter long‑standing minimum‑parking rules and allow market‑driven parking decisions while requiring compensating landscape improvements.
Board members said the change is intended to make smaller or infill sites more attractive to developers. In discussion, members adjusted recommended parking ratios for certain uses (for example, tighter ratios for eating establishments and health services were revised upward from the original draft) and added language to preserve required queuing spaces for drive‑throughs.
The board voted to recommend the amendment to Town Council for a public hearing; staff was tasked with producing final ordinance language that ties the reserved open space to the existing parking‑lot landscaping standards and clarifies numeric planting requirements.
Next steps: staff will draft the final ordinance language incorporating the board's edits and paragraph P, then present it to the Town Council for public hearing and adoption consideration. The board requested the draft be returned with clear cross‑references to existing landscaping standards and concrete planting metrics so the trade‑off results in usable, planted open space rather than minimal turf strips.
The board's motion to forward the amendment carried; staff recorded the action and will pursue scheduling a council public hearing.
