Gary L Herman
During a special work session on Monday, August 31, Alexander County Commissioners heard from Planning Director Patrick Creech regarding proposed text amendments to the county’s Land Development Code (LDC).
The proposed changes address issues identified since the LDC’s adoption in 2024 and incorporate updated county policies and state requirements.
Creech recommended bundling several issues into one update for consideration at an upcoming meeting of the Alexander County Board of Commissioners. The proposed amendments include the development plan process, commercial and industrial conditional zoning, feather flag regulations, manufactured home restrictions and an urban services overlay, a unified special events process, food truck regulations, multimodal plan recommendations, and an updated Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance.
Discussion began with the unified special events process, which would replace overlapping special event requirements with a single permitting process coordinated through the Planning Department and its Technical Review Committee. Creech said this would provide improved customer service for those planning special events in the county.
The next topic involved manufactured home restrictions and an urban services overlay. The proposed amendments would expand manufactured home opportunities in areas where they are currently restricted, while establishing an Urban Services Overlay District to maintain existing restrictions in areas served or planned to be served by public infrastructure. This change would significantly reduce the number of rezoning requests for residents wishing to place a manufactured home on their property and ease the process for residents.
Food truck regulations were the next topic of discussion. Creech said the existing code does not require food trucks to have a permit. He proposed that the county require food trucks to obtain an annual permit to operate in Alexander County. This change would assist Environmental Health staff in ensuring food trucks comply with applicable requirements.
Creech then provided recommendations for the multimodal plan, which would add pedestrian and bicycle connectivity requirements, including sidewalks or bikeable shoulders, shared-use connections, greenway easements, and marked pedestrian routes through large parking areas. There was some discussion about the current requirement for a sidewalk when constructing a new business. Creech said a bikeable shoulder could be an acceptable substitute.
He said the county’s Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance needs to be updated to reflect the March 2026 state model ordinance and current National Flood Insurance Program requirements.
The next topic was the development plan process. Creech said the Planning Department believes the county needs to clarify the distinction between master plans and development plans for major subdivisions, establish specific submittal requirements for each stage, and allow staff to approve development plans that are consistent with an approved master plan.
Commercial and industrial conditional zoning was the next topic of discussion. Creech recommended establishing a general conditional zoning process for commercial and industrial projects, allowing site-specific conditions to be considered as part of a rezoning while retaining an underlying base zoning district.
The next topic was feather flag regulations. The proposed amendments would remove the current prohibition on feather flags and allow their temporary use subject to standards for location, height, size, number, and applicable zoning districts.
Creech also proposed several smaller changes that could be incorporated into the same LDC update: revise floodplain requirements for docks, establish an expiration date for Technical Review Committee site plan approvals, remove mylar plat and physical copy requirements, update parking regulations to comply with changes in North Carolina law, and update residential appearance regulations to comply with changes in state law.
Along with the proposed amendments, planning staff recommends that the Board of Commissioners consider corresponding changes to the county’s fee schedule, including a food truck permit fee, special event permit fee, fee-in-lieu for required sidewalks or bikeable shoulders, and connectivity contribution for sidewalk gap closure.
Chairman Larry Yoder said the proposed LDC amendments are mostly common-sense changes.
“We appreciate the work of our Planning Department in identifying these issues and recommending practical solutions,” Yoder said. “These changes should help make the process clearer and more efficient for our residents and businesses while ensuring our regulations meet the needs of our county.”
The next regular meeting of the Alexander County Board of Commissioners is scheduled for Monday, September 14, at 6:00 p.m. at the CVCC Alexander Center for Education (Room 103). Regular meetings are recorded and may be viewed on the county’s Government Channel (Spectrum Channel 192) or the county’s YouTube channel. Meeting agendas, minutes, videos, and additional information are available at alexandercountync.gov/commissioners.