Unified Development Ordinance Update

In 2021, the Carthage Board of Commissioners approved funding to engage in an update to the Carthage Land Use Plan, which had not been updated since 1999. Carthage worked with consultants from the Triangle J Council of Governments (now known as the Central Pines COG) to develop a steering committee of local citizens, community leaders and business owners and begin the process of identifying the needs of our community as it relates to future growth. From this effort, the 2040 Land Use Plan was developed and adopted by the Board of Commissioners in early 2022.

While the 2040 Land Use Plan itself did not change significantly from the 1999 version, many of the new planning and zoning goals are not addressed by the current Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) which has not seen any significant updates for at least a decade if not more. The Board of Commissioners, realizing that the Land Use Plan is a "vision" of the future of Carthage, also recognized that in order to achieve this vision the right tools must be in place in order to ensure that our community is able to "build" the future that it wants to see. As a result, the Board approved funding in FY 2023-2024 to begin the long process of updating the UDO to align with the values, vision and goals set our int he 2040 Land Use Plan and brought in consultants from Kimley-Horn with the experience needed to develop a functional UDO that will serve to provide better planning and control as Carthage grows into the future.

Project Goals:

• Implement recommendations from the 2040 Comprehensive Land Use Plan
• Update development and design standards
• Incorporate new zoning districts to encourage mixed-use, density, and/or neighborhood-scale retail where appropriate.
• Create a graphic-rich, user-friendly policy guide.

Click here(PDF, 197KB) to download a one-page handout on this process!

Throughout FY 23-24, Town staff members in the Planning & Zoning Department worked closely with Kimley Horn to analyze the current UDO and Land Use Plan to find the areas in which the code did not align with the plan, where the code was difficult for staff or community members to navigate or understand, and where the code was outdated whether through changes in State laws or through changes in citizen values as they relate to growth and development of the built environment in Carthage. These findings will help to focus the team's efforts on where our code needs to be updated and where the code is working. Phase 1 was completed in June 2024.

As we begin the 2024-2025 fiscal year with a better understanding of the UDO, the Board of Commissioners and staff are now focused on gaining insight from the public on how they interact with the code, what concerns them about the code and what their vision is for the future of Carthage. These input sessions will come over multiple focus group meetings where individuals from all sectors will come together to share their thoughts with the Carthage staff and Kimley Horn consultants as it pertains to the UDO. Invitations or calls to participate will be communicated via our website and Facebook page as well as through phone calls or emails from town staff.

Once we have received as much public input as possible, our team will use that information to further refine the UDO and tailor it to fit the unique needs of our community and its plans for future growth.

The final phase of this process is the adoption of the new Unified Development Ordinance and zoning map. This is the last step in what is anticipated to be 2 years of effort by town boards, citizens, staff and our elected officials. As required by NC General Statute Chapter 160D, public hearings will be advertised to allow the public to make any final comments for the Board of Commissioner's consideration and deliberation.