Title
Vote to approve a legislative request by the Chatham County Board of Commissioners for text amendments to the Chatham County Zoning Ordinance; specifically, Section 1 Title, Section 3 Bona Fide Farm Exempt, Section 7.2 Definitions, Section 10.13 Zoning Table of Permitted Uses, Section 14 Off Street Parking and Loading, and Section 19 Amendment to the Zoning Ordinance. These amendments are intended to maintain compliance with recent legislative changes to G.S. 160D and other statutes related to the Zoning Ordinance (update bona fide farm exemptions and remove off street parking requirements), add all townships to the title, incorporate additional uses in the table of permitted uses, modify staff participation in legislative processes, and remove waiting period for application resubmittal
Abstract
Introduction & Background: From time to time, the North Carolina General Assembly enacts legislation amending Chapter 160D of the North Carolina General Statutes or other applicable state statutes that requires corresponding amendments to the Chatham County Zoning Ordinance. The General Assembly recently enacted Session Law 2026-11 and Session Law 2026-39, which require updates to the Ordinance related to bona fide farm exemptions and off-street parking standards, respectively. Session Law 2026-39 places limitations on the ability of local governments to require off-street parking spaces for certain development and structures, while Session Law 2026-11 modifies the statutory provisions governing bona fide farm purposes and the applicability of local zoning regulations to those uses.
The proposed amendments also include several housekeeping and administrative changes. These include amendments to Section 1, Title, and Section 19 to remove the waiting period for an applicant to reapply following the denial or withdrawal of a submittal. Section 7.2, Definitions, is also being amended to add definitions for several uses that are currently included in the Table of Permitted Uses but are not otherwise defined in the Ordinance. Also, several uses are being added to Section 10.13, Table of Permitted Uses, to clarify where those uses are allowed. For example, family cemeteries and community gardens will be added as permitted uses in all zoning districts.
Finally, the amendments add Special Use Permit (SUP) processes for certain uses in residential zoning districts. Liquefied fuel transmission lines and natural gas transmission lines are being added to the Table of Permitted Uses with an SUP requirement in residential districts. In addition, commercial breweries and distilleries are being added to the Table of Permitted Uses and will require an SUP in the NC, CB, and RB zoning districts. These additions are intended to provide a clear regulatory framework for uses that are not currently addressed in the Table of Permitted Uses and also align with the current process for similar uses.
Discussion & Analysis: Two recently enacted session laws, S.L. 2026-11 and S.L. 2026-39, make changes that are particularly relevant to local zoning and development regulations. S.L. 2026-39 amends NC 160D-702 to prohibit local governments from requiring a minimum number of off-street parking spaces for a development or structure, regardless of occupancy or use, with limited exceptions for certain properties in coastal areas. The law also retains the existing limitation on the size of required parking spaces, generally prohibiting requirements for spaces larger than 9 feet by 20 feet. These parking provisions will become effective on January 1, 2027.
After consultation with the county attorney, planning staff decided to remove all of the parking standards from the zoning ordinance and deleted the entirety of section 14. It is now labeled Section 14 Reserved.
S.L. 2026-11 amends NC160D-903 to expand and clarify what constitutes a bona fide farm purpose that is exempt from county zoning. Among other changes, the law expressly identifies buildings or structures used solely for the production of agricultural products and commodities derived from animal waste, including fertilizers and biogas, as bona fide farm purposes. It also modifies the statutory treatment of certain agricultural buildings and removes the prior agritourism-specific language from the statute, while retaining the general statutory exemption for property used for bona fide farm purposes. These changes were largely copied from the statute and added to the Zoning Ordinance to conform with the
exact language.
When planning staff reviewed the Zoning Ordinance, they noticed that the title section had not been updated to include all of the townships in the County. This was an oversight that is corrected by the attached redline. Please note that Mathews is spelled incorrectly below and has been corrected to Matthews in the Ordinance approving the amendments.
Definitions will be added to the Ordinance for Public Utility Transmission Line, Liquid Fuel Transmission Line, Natural Gas Transmission Line, Major Utility, and Minor Utility to provide greater clarity and consistency in how these utility-related uses are classified and regulated. Several uses are added to the Table of Permitted Uses as seen in the table below. The table shows Liquid Fuel Transmission Lines and Natural Gas Transmission Lines being permitted in all districts except for R5, R2, and R1 for which they require an SUP subject to the additional requirements of 17.9.
The Board held the public hearing at the August 17th BOC meeting. There was one public comment during the public hearing but was not necessarily related to the text amendments. The commissioners did not have any questions. The planning board reviewed this item during their regularly scheduled meeting on September 1st, 2026. They did not have any concerns or edits to make and voted unanimously to recommend approval of the text amendments to the Board of Commissioners.
During the public comment period of the meeting, Matt Rhoad, Attorney for Enbridge Natural Gas, spoke against the text amendments, specifically the proposed definitions and table of uses. He said that Enbridge was committed to working with individual landowners to address property specific concerns and to follow all procedures set out by the state legislature and the utilities commission in siting, constructing, and operating the pipeline. He argued that the county does not have the authority to adopt text amendments or to regulate transmission pipelines in this way.
How does this relate to the Comprehensive Plan: N/A
Budgetary Impact: N/A
Recommendation/Motion: The Planning Board, by unanimous vote, recommends adoption of an ordinance amending the zoning ordinance approving a legislative request by the Chatham County Board of Commissioners for text amendments to the Chatham County Zoning Ordinance; specifically, Section 1 Title, Section 3 Bona Fide Farm Exempt, Section 7.2 Definitions, Section 10.13 Zoning Table of Permitted Uses, Section 14 Off Street Parking and Loading, and Section 19 Amendment to the Zoning Ordinance.
Consistency Statement:
The Planning Board, by unanimous vote, recommends adoption of a resolution approving the following consistency statement:
The Request to amend the Zoning Ordinance is consistent with Plan Chatham, the adopted comprehensive plan, pursuant to Chapter Four, Natural Resources primary goal of conserving natural resources, the secondary goal of preserving the rural character and lifestyle of the County, and to preserve, protect, and enable agriculture and forestry.
Motion to adopt the resolution approving a Consistency Statement for the Approval of a legislative request by Chatham County Board of Commissioners for text amendments to the Chatham County Zoning Ordinance; specifically, Section 1 Title, Section 3 Bona Fide Farm Exempt, Section 7.2 Definitions, Section 10.13 Zoning Table of Permitted Uses, Section 14 Off Street Parking and Loading, and Section 19 Amendment to the Zoning Ordinance.