By ELENA MARSH
Insider Staff Writer
The ink on the 2025 Moore County Land Use Plan is barely dry, but county commissioners are already working on the next steps for the document and how it will function in the county’s planning apparatus.
Approved by commissioners on Oct. 21, the plan includes goals and actions that carry potential impacts on the county’s planning and building ordinances, including zoning regulations and new criteria for development.
“ There are some updates that are going to come down the line like waterfall effects from the UDO (Unified Development Ordinance) updates and the Land Use Plan,” said County Planning Director Ruth Pedersen, “one of those being the high density watershed development option.”
Right now the state has classifications for both high density and low density development. The county’s UDO only allows for low density development.
If the county were to add a high density option, it would require greater oversight and increased stormwater control measures, but it would also give developers the option to develop more residential units in a small area, such as apartment buildings and townhomes, often located near amenities.
“With the implementation of the ‘Small Town Model’ and potential sewer infrastructure going in the county, it would be in our best interest to look into possibly including this as an option for developers in our ordinances,” said Pedersen.
The biggest update to the UDO, according to planning staff, will be the addition of what they have termed the “Small Town Development Model,” one of the growth management tools included in the new plan. In order for that to happen, though, county ordinances have to include the guidelines for someone to follow, including setback standards, design standards and other types of guidelines.
“So that’s going to be the next process that we’re going to have to go through to add that into the UDO with all of those criteria for someone to follow if they want to develop a small town,” said Pedersen.
The county Planning Board is set to have a work session at its next meeting on Thursday, Nov. 6, to discuss the implementation and provide any recommendations to staff as they generate those standards and requirements. The Planning Department is also working with local planner Larry Best, who developed the model, to get his input and feedback on those design standards.
With the changes to density options come changes to standards, especially with stormwater management and erosion control to ensure that stormwater is appropriately managed in new developments.
“ And we need to,” said Commissioner Jim Von Canon, who has been most outspoken on the topic of erosion control in new developments. “I don’t know how we fix it, but this (erosion) is a terrible problem.”
While some of the new wording is nearly identical to the county’s 2013 Land Use Plan, some actions mark a decidedly toothier statement of preservation than previous iterations.
“One other recommendation from the Land Use Plan Steering Committee was to look at the (Residential Agricultural) zoning district,” said Pedersen. “They (the committee) had a lot of talk about preserving the rural agricultural areas of the county and recommended that we look at the uses that are currently allowed in RA, and maybe take an inventory and do an analysis on that.”
As well, there are three documents the Land Use Plan cites as being an important addition to the county’s planning process but that still need to be created. They are a Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan; a Master Utilities and Public Works Plan; and an Inventory of Historic Sites, to be displayed on the county’s Geographic Information System (GIS).
The Planning Department plans to work with Parks and Recreation Director Chris Wiley, Public Works Director Brian Patnode and the GIS Department to create all three plans. There will also be opportunity for public input during their creation.
Contact Elena Marsh at (910) 693-2484 or elena@thepilot.com.
