Johnston Commissioners Schedule Special Meeting On Unified Development Ordinance

SMITHFIELD, N.C. — Johnston County commissioners will hold a special meeting to continue discussions on the county’s proposed Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), a comprehensive rewrite of the regulations that govern growth and development in unincorporated areas of the county.

The special meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 17, in the Commissioners Meeting Room at the Johnston County Courthouse, 207 E. Johnston Street in Smithfield. The meeting is not a public hearing, but it will be open to the public.

The draft UDO has been under development for months and is intended to modernize and consolidate the county’s land use and development regulations into a single document.

Earlier this year, Planning Director Braston Newton told commissioners that a committee made up of farmers, developers, county officials and other stakeholders had been reviewing the proposed ordinance line by line with assistance from a consulting firm.

During that review, committee members backed away from proposed restrictions on farm animals in subdivisions and discussed increasing setbacks for homes in new subdivisions. Another major topic has been the width of landscaped buffer areas that developers would be required to install between new residential subdivisions and adjacent farmland.

The proposed ordinance has generated significant public interest, with residents raising concerns about residential growth, farmland preservation, property rights and future development standards during recent Board of Commissioners meetings.

The next opportunity for public participation will be a Community Input Session on Sept. 9, followed by a Planning Board review and recommendation on Sept. 15.

The Board of Commissioners is scheduled to hold its official public hearing on Oct. 5, with a final review and possible action on Nov. 2.

The Aug. 17 special meeting is expected to give commissioners another opportunity to review the draft ordinance before it advances through the remaining public review process.