County planners propose zoning changes to ease rules for accessory buildings, tiny homes and ADUs

Burke County community development staff on Tuesday outlined a package of zoning changes they say will reduce regulatory burdens for property owners and align local rules with recent state and industry changes.

"The biggest one is reducing our regulation on accessory buildings," said Patrick, a community development staffer, summarizing ZTA 202502. He said the Board of Adjustment was handling many variance requests tied to accessory structures and the proposed change would reduce those cases by raising size thresholds. The draft also adds a formal definition for "tiny homes," codifies NCDEQ decommissioning/financial assurance requirements for solar farms, clarifies that porches and decks generally do not count toward heated square footage for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and streamlines confusing mobile‑home park language toward a unified development ordinance.

Patrick said the draft adds an option called a "community master plan" (a form of conditional zoning) that would allow mixed‑use development — for example, light manufacturing, residential and office uses on a single parcel — and trigger coordinated site‑team review by emergency management, fire marshal and planning staff followed by public hearings. The proposal also shifts the submission of site plans from paper to digital.

During review, commissioners raised a question about language requiring accessory dwellings to "resemble the primary structure" and cautioned that such wording can be subjective and difficult to enforce, especially on large rural parcels where visibility and context differ. Staff said language could be softened to encourage compatibility without creating an enforceable standard that would trigger neighbor complaints.

The ZTA package will be the subject of a scheduled public hearing at the board’s regular meeting; staff said they would provide corrected exhibit files and redlines prior to that hearing.