What to know as Brunswick County looks to modernize nearly decade-old development guidelines
Looking to address the rapid growth and subsequent development in Brunswick County, leaders are exploring changing the regulations that govern land use and development in the county.
State law allows local municipalities to govern land use and development at the local level. Brunswick County’s unified development ordinance (UDO) is a nearly 500-page document that provides such regulations for the use of all land, water and structures in the county’s jurisdiction.
The continued growth of the county and seemingly endless residential and commercial development in the area has the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners looking to update and modernize the guidelines in the UDO.
Here’s what to know about the potential changes and what the revision could mean for future development.
What is a UDO?
A UDO is the foundation for land-use regulation in a municipality. Brunswick County’s UDO was first implemented in 2007, and it has seen major and minor modifications since then. The UDO was revised and readopted in 2015, and the last minor revision was adopted earlier this month.
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The ordinance is tasked with implementing and regulating the goals of other future land-use plans that have been accepted by the county, including the Blueprint Brunswick 2040 and CAMA Land Use plans.
Changes to the UDO could mean more, or different, restrictions for developers when it comes to tree preservation, building density, land use, heights of structures, among others.
What do community members want?
In recent months, waves of county residents have attended meetings of the county’s planning board and commissioners, urging the two boards to stop approving proposed residential and commercial developments and to revise the county’s UDO to better regulate building. Many residents have expressed concerns about infrastructure, flooding, traffic and overdevelopment.
But, its not the first call for a UDO revision in recent years: In 2022, an online petition demanding a moratorium on new developments until a new UDO was adopted garnered more than 500 signatures.
Why now?
Brunswick County staff and elected officials are looking to revise the 9-year-old ordinance following the February 2023 adoption of the Blueprint Brunswick 2040 Plan, a comprehensive land-use plan and parks and recreation master plan that looks to “guide future growth, decisions, investments in infrastructure, and services” in the unincorporated parts of the county and six participating incorporating towns. The UDO, staff said, should reflect the long-term desires of the community that are reflected in that plan.
Additionally, consultation services necessary for a UDO revision is funded in the county’s budget for the current fiscal year.
What’s next?
Revising the UDO is a time-intensive process. According to a February staff report, county staff estimated that, once hired, a consultant would take a year to a year and a half to revise the UDO, a process that would include public input sessions.
The final adoption of a revised UDO would be expected some 14 to 21 months after the start of the process.
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Concerned by the lengthy timeline, the board asked staff if the process could be expedited. Staff said an expedited review could be complete in 10 to 12 months, but that would limit the amount of public input meetings.
Stressing that county staff could not take on the rewrite themselves, staff told the board in March they had begun interviewing potential consultants to assist in the process.
Jamey Cross covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter/X @jameybcross.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Brunswick County, NC, to update development guidelines
