BRUNSWICK COUNTY — County staff, commissioners, and developers met in private Monday to discuss hotly debated text amendments that will affect guidelines on trees, greenspace and buffers.
While they were meeting inside the Brunswick County Government Center, a handful of protesters stood outside before moving into hallways in solidarity, demanding their right to be included in the meeting.
“It’s excluding a whole portion of the public,” Jill Brown said.
Brown is running for a seat on the North Carolina House of Representatives for District 19, which includes parts of Brunswick and New Hanover counties.
“The problem is: What is this meeting about? What are you discussing in there, and why is it a secret?” she asked.
North Carolina General Statute 143‑318.10. only requires government meetings to be public when there is a quorum, meaning a majority of the elected body is present, and the meeting is to conduct official business.
Only two commissioners, Chairman Randy Thompson and Vice Chairman Mike Forte were in attendance — three or more would’ve made a quorum. Daralyn Spivey, clerk to the commissioners, confirmed staff, developers and relevant stakeholders were present and it was not open to the public.
“If it’s going to affect me directly, I am a stakeholder, and I should have a voice in this,” Majorie Burnside, Brunswick County resident, said.
The meeting was to garner feedback on changes to text amendments in the unified development ordinance that, if approved, will guide developers. One is about preserving trees and greenspace by adjusting the requirements for tree quantities, open space distribution, and recreation area sizes.
Another focuses on transportation overlay zoning, which requires developers to install street buffers along major highway corridors; it also increases minimum buffer depth from 50 feet to 100, strengthens opacity standards, and updates the list of approved landscaping species.
At the commissioners’ July 8 meeting, Deputy County Manager Haynes Brigman gave a presentation on nine amendments that staff revised in the last year. Brigman told commissioners he heard complaints from some developers in opposition.
“The feedback we have gotten from the development community has simply been defined as: ‘no,’” Brigman said at the July 8 meeting. “Until we have alternatives or know what aspects they might be able to accept or cannot accept, or receive suggestions for changes in numbers or percentages, we are left to present this to you as is.”
Commissioners asked Brunswick County planning staff to convene with players in the development community to collect feedback, which is how Monday’s meeting came about.
Forte told Brigman to set the date and let developers know: “This is your one shot. If you don’t show up and tell us what it is that you have a problem with, then to heck with ya, we are going to do this.”
Forte told Port City Daily on a phone call Monday, the July 29 meeting was “a lot of back and forth.”
“We were trying to make a compromise,” he said, but that’s all the information he would divulge.
Roughly 50 people showed up to participate; multiple developers exiting the meeting refused to speak to the media. Though it’s unclear the specifics discussed, Brigman said previously on July 8 that developers’ concerns primarily revolved around the increased costs and impact of expanding open and recreational spaces. By proxy, it would reduce the amount of land available for development.
One provision of the new amendments mandates developers plant three additional trees per residential lot and 15 per commercial lot. Brigman estimated for residential lots, it would total $750 per single-family home.
The amendments also include an increase to the required open space by 5% and the recreational space by 10% across all zoning districts and development types. Under the new amendments, the required recreational space will increase to 25% from 15%.
Protesters were in favor of the amendments but against being excluded from having a seat at the table. Burnside thought residents should at least have been able to listen.
“As a resident and a voter in Brunswick County, I feel we have the right,” she said.
Tom Simmons, running for commissioner, thought asking for developers’ concerns over residential concerns was counterproductive. He suggested it is unwise to let developers — who might benefit from less restrictive regulations — have a significant role in shaping the directives.
“To ask the developers to come out here and give recommendations for the amendment of the UDO — well, that’s just like giving the fox the keys to the hen house,” Simmons said. “The developers certainly aren’t going to go in there and say: ‘Well, let’s make it tougher on ourselves.’”
Brunswick County spokesperson Meagan Kascsak noted the public has been involved in the text amendment changes for the past several months. She said the county held community input meetings and public comment opportunities and added Monday’s meeting was never intended to be public. Kascsak noted the county has held similar meetings in the past with various groups and organizations, including the ABCPOA and the realtors association, to discuss proposed UDO amendments.
On site Monday in protest — signs in hand stating “stop over-developing” — were community leaders and members of the Cape Fear Sierra Club and Preserve Shallotte Point, both of which focus on environmental preservation.
“I’m here for my grandchildren,” Sierra Club member Richard Eggeling said. “I would like them to see greenspace.”
The text amendments were first introduced to commissioners last fall, following the board’s suggestion to address resident concerns about tree clearing and the environmental impact of development. In December, a community meeting was held, garnering over 100 public comments.
Based on this feedback, staff developed recommendations. The planning board unanimously denied the text amendment when it was presented in May, prompting staff to go before commissioners asking how to move forward.
This did not sit well with Chairman Thompson on July 8. He said the planning board did not give sufficient feedback and called on them to “step up” or “step out.”
“If they don’t want to step up and address these issues and help us be part of the positive part of the process to go through this and come back with some real, tangible suggestions that we can move forward with, then they need to tender their resignation,” he said.
Protesters said they learned about Monday’s meeting through word of mouth, following a social media post made by the Brunswick County Association of Realtors. However, the post has since been removed.
A saved screen grab shows the announcement was signed by Brunswick County Association of Realtors CEO Cynthia Walsh and Tyler Newman, director of BCAR government affairs — also at Monday’s meeting.
It stated in part:
“Be ready to tell staff and the commissioners in attendance why these proposals would negatively impact your business, harm property rights, and dissuade investment in our region. A huge turnout would speak volumes.”
There will be a public hearing on the amendments before they pass. Kascsak emphasized residents don’t need to wait for the hearing to share opinions; a form is open to contact commissioners directly or to reach out to the county’s planning team.
“We want to ensure all parties have a chance to talk and have productive dialogue with the county on this matter,” she said.
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