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Polk sets June 21 for proposed zoning ordinance changes

COLUMBUS—Polk County set a public hearing for next month to comments on making changes to its zoning ordinance. 

Commissioners met Monday and approved setting a public hearing for June 21 at 5 p.m. 

The zoning ordinance is proposed to have text amendments to update with the addition of the new Chapter 160D of the North Carolina General Statutes, which consolidates current city and county enabling statutes in Chapters 153A and 160A into a single, unified chapter and pulls in related statutes previously scattered throughout the General Statutes. The planning board recommends the amendments and said Chapter 160D places the statutes into a more logical, coherent organization. 

Commissioners on Monday heard from Polk County Planner Cathy Ruth. 

Ruth requested the hearing and said there are about 10 additional changes to the zoning ordinance. 

Land use regulation in North Carolina has been modernized for the first time in decades and the new chapter, 160D, was created to update the development regulations. Ruth said the new law provides many clarifying amendments and consensus reforms that are required to be incorporated into local development regulations. 

Local governments have until July 1 to adopt the necessary amendments to conform local ordinances to the new law. 

The proposed amendments can be found on the county’s website at polknc.org.

The public hearing will be held at the beginning of the meeting, which is held in the R. Jay Foster Hall of Justice, located on the second floor of the Womack building in Columbus.