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Southern Pines tightens political‑sign rules, adopts tree‑species list and aligns road standards with state law
Summary
The Southern Pines Town Council on Feb. 10 approved UDO changes that set a 3‑foot setback and 42‑inch height limit for temporary signs, shortened post‑election removal to seven days, adopted a recommended tree‑species chart, and accepted state minimums for private road/asphalt standards while directing staff to reform landscaping and open‑space code.
Southern Pines Town Council approved a package of amendments to the town's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) on Feb. 10 that change how the town regulates temporary political signs, formalize a recommended tree‑species list, and align certain engineering standards with North Carolina Department of Transportation (DOT) minimums.
Planning Director BJ Grieve told the council the sign changes were written to mirror state right‑of‑way rules, which specify a minimum setback and maximum sign height. “No sign shall be closer than three feet from the edge of the pavement of the road and no sign shall be higher than 42 inches above the edge of the pavement,” Grieve said, describing the 3‑foot setback the town will now enforce on town streets and back‑of‑curb where applicable.
The UDO amendment package removes local waiting periods that session law 2025‑94 prohibits, adopts a chart listing recommended small and large trees and shrubs (the species list the tree‑protection focus group vetted), and strips portions of Appendix F so staff can refile a reworked landscaping/open‑space code in early summer. Councilors said the species chart preserves the “good bones” of the draft tree protection rules while avoiding legal exposure tied to other landscaping provisions.
The council also addressed engineering standards for private parking areas and private roads. Town engineer James Ml explained that state law now limits municipalities’ ability to require cross‑sections that exceed DOT minimums for private improvements. Under the town’s prior guidance a typical parking‑lot structure would have been roughly 2 inches of asphalt over 6 inches of stone; the DOT minimum called out in the amendments can accept 1.5 inches of asphalt over 6 inches of stone for private lots. Ml cautioned that thinner asphalt may shorten service life and increase long‑run maintenance costs for private roads but said public roads dedicated to the town remain subject to the town’s standards.
Councilors debated enforcement options for signs—whether staff should move improperly placed signs 3 feet back or remove them to the town office—and discussed how the county board of elections typically shares sign templates with candidates before elections. On the post‑election removal window, staff recommended allowing time for volunteer retrieval; the council reduced the town’s current 10‑day requirement to seven days following an election.
Votes were taken by voice and motions carried. The council’s action preserves parts of staff’s tree‑protection work (the recommended species list) while sending the more complex landscaping and open‑space sections back to staff and the planning board for retooling.
What happens next: staff will publish the updated UDO language and the adopted species chart and return revised landscaping/open‑space and tree‑protection language to council after public review, anticipated in early summer.
