LELAND — Brunswick County’s fastest-growing town is poised to expand development rules in its most vulnerable areas — a move that could reshape how and where homes are built across thousands of acres.
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Following a unanimous approval that was made by the Leland planning board on Tuesday, June 24, town council will soon vote at its July 17 meeting to adopt an amendment to the town’s flood damage prevention ordinance. The goal is to adjust how areas can be developed in flood zones.
Planning and inspection director Ben Andrea told the planning board the amendment will help Leland reach its 2045 goals of accommodating growth, and infrastructure that supports community life. If approved, the would increase the required freeboard (meaning elevation) from 2 to 4 feet, limit residential construction to two units per acre in flood-risk areas, prohibit the use of fill to elevate land, and apply the town’s development rules to both 100- and 500-year flood zones to proactively prepare the town further for extreme weather.
“Anything that the town can do in regards to limiting development in areas that have some potential for hazard, such as flooding, anything that the town can do to increase resiliency is a good thing,” Andrea said to Port City Daily.
The amendment stems from concerns discussed by the Leland town council in November after the region was affected by a 1,000-year rain event, otherwise known as Potential Tropical Cyclone #8 in September 2024. It brought around 20 inches in 24 hours to portions of Brunswick and New Hanover counties.
One neighborhood that was heavily impacted was Stoney Creek off Hazel Branch Road. Port City Daily reported in September that at least 19 homes were damaged and around 27 residents were rescued by Leland and New Hanover County fire and rescue teams after they were left stranded as floodwaters rose to window height.
There are currently 3,571 acres in the 100-year flood zone and 279 acres in a 500-year floodplain. According to Andrea,155 residential structures currently exist or are being built in the 100-year flood zone, and 131 are located in the 500-year zone.
While the town’s ordinance requires construction of structures in flood zones to be elevated or floodproofed 2 additional feet above the base flood elevation, the changed ordinance would now require 4 additional feet rather than 2, in order to account for flood heights.
Additionally, fill, used to raise land in flood zones, would be prohibited for the purpose of elevating land for structures. The ordinance will still allow filling to take place for nonresidential construction, including flood control and stormwater management structures and roads.
The town decided to prohibit it otherwise because, while it raises a structure out of the flood zone, surrounding areas can be negatively affected. When one property is elevated higher than surrounding land, increased runoff can occur, possibly overwhelming stormwater systems.
“I think the fill creates several sets of obstacles,” council member Bill McHugh told council on March 17. “When you fill in your property to no longer be in a flood zone, that water doesn’t disappear, it just goes to your neighbors.”
In response to the storm, the council directed town staff in February to formalize the potential ordinance changes. McHugh pressed on the importance that council act sooner rather than later.
“I don’t think we can continue to kick the can, especially in an area that is growing so rapidly,” he said. “I don’t want to wait another year to start making a difference in what we’re doing.”
Council member Veronica Carter agreed and told Andrea the council trusted him to push it forward.
“We can’t just keep letting people build where we know it’s going to flood and we know we’re going to be back rescuing them,” she said.
The planning board requested only one change to staff’s suggestions regarding the fill amendment. The board wanted to allow fill for the construction of a mounded septic system, a circumstance Andrea said would be rare. The language change was proposed by Christopher Berlin whose term on the board ended following the meeting.
A mound septic system is an alternative to a conventional septic system. It’s designed for areas where soil isn’t suitable for standard drain fields. This is usually due to high water tables or shallow soil or bedrock. Essentially, it elevates the drain field above the natural ground level creating a mound filled with sand or gravel to filter wastewater.
Currently, the flood damage prevention ordinance does not regulate the density of residential units that can be constructed in a flood zone. The proposed amendment would only allow for two residential units per acre to be constructed within the 100- and 500-year flood zone. Examples of this would be two single-family homes, one duplex building or a two-unit apartment building per acre.
The amendment indicates the change would minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding because fewer families will be impacted by a flooding event.
During the meeting on March 17, Carter questioned if the town’s changes to the ordinance would conflict with Senate Bill 382, which limits local governments’ ability to pursue downzoning regulations. Andrea told Port City Daily the position of the town is that section of the law doesn’t apply to a change in the flood-damage prevention ordinance.
If the amendment is approved by Leland council next month, it will go into effect immediately and will inform the planning board’s decisions for development in the future. Any developments currently being constructed will adhere to the rules of the ordinance as it was written when they gained their original permits. That said, if a property is sufficiently damaged once the new regulations go into effect, the structure’s rebuild would need to follow new parameters.
“I think that the town council is showing some strong leadership in directing staff to pursue some regulations that are more intense or more restrictive than surrounding communities,” Andrea told Port City Daily. “That shows good leadership and it shows good long range vision from the town council.”
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