Rebecca Roth, planning staff, presented a package of Unified Development Ordinance maintenance amendments at the Dec. 4 New Hanover County Planning Board meeting tied to the Destination 2050 comprehensive‑plan update.

Roth said the amendments update place‑type references and implement recent state statutory changes that limit local governments’ ability to reduce allowed density or impose waiting periods for reapplication. To avoid unintended down‑zoning, staff proposed removing some place‑type references from the UDO to better separate the policy (comprehensive plan) from the regulatory code.

A primary implementation proposal would allow developers of very large plan development districts (generally parcels over 25 acres) to submit a transportation network plan at the rezoning stage — prepared by a traffic engineer — that documents likely traffic generation and the proposed internal street network, with the full traffic impact analysis (TIA) deferred until later in the process. Roth said this approach is intended to improve master planning, give the public and elected officials earlier information on likely road impacts, and avoid years of expensive TIA work during initial rezoning when long build‑out horizons make some TIA assumptions less accurate. “One of the things that we are proposing is instead of a traditional traffic impact analysis for these larger plan developments at the rezoning stage, having them come in with a transportation network plan,” Roth said.

Staff also recommended making the riverfront mixed‑use district a legacy district so it cannot be newly requested going forward, corrected a conflicting statement in a recent sign code amendment, and proposed statutory updates to reflect state law changes enacted earlier in the year. Staff plans to release the draft amendment materials for public review shortly and is asking for comments by Dec. 29 in order to consider them before the board’s January meeting; staff also reminded the public that Destination 2050 comments remain open through Dec. 19.

Board members asked who would prepare transportation network plans (Roth said a traffic engineer) and whether the approach would move some TIA work until after rezoning; Roth confirmed that the plan is intended for larger, longer build‑out projects and that the full TIA remains a requirement later in the process. Roth said the amendment will be released as a single package but the board may recommend adopting parts of it and not others.

Next steps: staff will post the draft amendment for public review on the county website and accept comments through Dec. 29; a version of the amendment for board consideration is expected in January.