10.7.26 UDO Community Meeting

Nash County, North Carolina, held a UDO community information meeting on October 8, 2026, to explain proposed revisions to its Unified Development Ordinance. The county said this is its broadest review of the ordinance in more than 25 years; a consultant, Withers & Ravenel, helped facilitate the process. Proposals include restricting new foot lots and shared driveways, changing subdivision lot and road standards, requiring more screening and street trees, allowing accessory dwelling units in specified districts, establishing conservation subdivisions, and requiring some developments to extend public water and sewer lines. Other proposals address emergency access, sidewalks in certain developments, solar-farm site restoration, electric-vehicle charging in larger developments, and increasing the floodplain freeboard requirement from one foot to two feet. The county also has a recently adopted data-center moratorium; data-center standards will be considered separately after this UDO process.

No vote was taken at this community meeting, and no contract award, bid approval, or budget allocation was identified. The meeting was for public education and questions; the planning board was scheduled to consider recommendations later in October, followed by the Board of Commissioners in November, where the public would have opportunities to comment. Proposed rules would generally apply to new development if adopted, with no grace period identified at the meeting. The discussion included concerns about private wastewater systems, road and fire access, traffic, and water resources.