Title
Vote to approve a legislative request for an amendment to revise the Chatham County Design Guidelines as recommended by the Chatham County Appearance Commission, provide a suggested plant list, and an invasive plant list for the development of commercial and industrial properties in the County
Abstract
Introduction & Background: A legislative public hearing was held on August 17, 2026. Planning staff, as well as staff support to the CCAC, Angela Plummer, presented the request. Erin McDade, member of the CCAC, was available for questions.
Discussion & Analysis: The Chatham County Appearance Commission (CCAC) was created in 1992. For the past 34 years, this group has been tasked with reviewing and recommending approvals of commercial, industrial, and special use projects in the County’s planning and zoning jurisdictions. The members are a group of professional landscape architects, landscape designers, plant specialists, nursery professionals, engineers, etc. They are relied on completely to review landscaping, planting types, planting procedures, elevations of buildings in connection with plantings, grading options, signage, lighting, and the like that are required on a site plan.
As development has increased in the County over the last decade, the design guidelines needed to be updated with the last update in 2010. Over the past few years, the commission has been working on updated requirements and recommendations to better align with native plants in the area, what types of plants will create the type of landscape buffer required for each specific project, and maintenance recommendations to name a few.
During this rewrite, the County started the UDO process which would have included these updates in the new Ordinance. However, due to legislative delays, the UDO is not in effect, and county staff are not sure when it will happen. In order to move these amendments forward, the request is to update the existing guidelines to incorporate the updated standards.
They also created a recommended plant list and a list of those that are not recommended, (i.e. invasive plant list for developers to avoid using). As nature changes, so do some plants.
This item was on the Planning Board consent agenda during their regular meeting on September 1, 2026 and was recommended for approval by unanimous vote.
How does this relate to the Comprehensive Plan:
• The proposed amendments to the Chatham County Design Guidelines support Strategy 6.2 of Plan Chatham by “Updating design guidelines that improve aesthetics of commercial, office, industrial and mixed-use development along major corridors”.
Budgetary Impact: N/A
Recommendation/Motion: Planning Board recommends by unanimous vote (11-0) adoption of an ordinance approving a legislative request for an amendment to revise the Chatham County Design Guidelines as recommended by the Chatham County Appearance Commission, provide a suggested plant list, and an invasive plant list for the development of commercial and industrial properties in the County
Consistency Statement: The Planning Board, by unanimous vote (11-0), recommends adoption of a resolution approving the following consistency statement:
• The proposed amendments to the Chatham County Design Guidelines support Strategy 6.2 of Plan Chatham by “Updating design guidelines that improve aesthetics of commercial, office, industrial and mixed-use development along major corridors”.
Motion to adopt a resolution approving a consistency statement and statement of reasonableness for the approval of the Revised Chatham County Design Guidelines and Associated Plant Lists.