Nash County unveils sweeping UDO update with new standards for subdivisions, buffers and data centers

Nash County officials on June 24 presented a major update to the county's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), a document first adopted in 1998 that will be modernized to clarify standards, reduce duplication and create specific rules for uses now common in rural counties, including data centers and accessory dwelling units.

Planning Director Adam Tyson told residents the rewrite began with a kickoff in June 2025 and has involved a steering committee made up of three county commissioners, Planning Board members and staff advisors. The committee worked with consultant WithersRavenel; project manager Adam Colepepper said the team distilled community and staff concerns into 33 implementation actions that will be translated into enforceable ordinance text and returned for public hearings.

Why it matters: the current ordinance is fragmented and dated, Colepepper said; the purpose of the update is to make rules easier for landowners, developers and staff to use, to reduce contradictory provisions and to build standards for uses not previously named in the code.

Key proposals outlined by the consultant include reorganizing definitions in one location; modernizing the permitted-use table so similar manufacturing uses are grouped; adding minimum lot-size metrics for multi-family developments; and explicitly naming data centers as a land use with mandatory development standards (screening, noise, separation distances and utility usage restrictions) so the county and courts cannot later treat a data center as an undefined use.

Subdivision and infrastructure changes: the draft distinguishes minor subdivisions (four or fewer lots) from major subdivisions (five or more lots) and ties several infrastructure requirements to that threshold. Proposed actions include a 100-ft-per-unit threshold to determine the distance a developer must extend water/sewer (with a practical cap at 3,000 ft), stub-road requirements to promote neighborhood connectivity, a proposed reduction in maximum block length from 1,200 ft to 1,000 ft, and new streetscape/perimeter landscape buffers tied to NCDOT roadway classifications.

Utilities: staff told the meeting that private water and wastewater systems cannot be completely banned under applicable law but can be required to meet Nash County construction standards and be stubbed to accommodate future interconnection. The county's approach is to require utility connections for major subdivisions when feasible while avoiding unaffordable forced line extensions.

Flood and safety provisions: the draft raises the building freeboard in flood zones from 1 ft to 2 ft to align with neighboring jurisdictions and proposes cul-de-sac and turnaround standards consistent with the North Carolina fire code.

Data centers and EV charging: Colepepper and Tyson said the UDO will create a clear approval path and stricter mandatory standards for data centers rather than an outright ban; exact permit conditions will be developed in later drafts. EV-charging would be required for larger commercial and multi-family developments, not single-family lots.

Public review and next steps: staff said the next steps are translating these implementation actions into ordinance language, publishing drafts, holding an open house and conducting separate public hearings before Planning Board and commissioners. Officials repeatedly emphasized the draft remains a work in progress and invited additional written comments and sign-up for future updates.