Planning Board

The next regular meeting of the Beaufort Planning Board is scheduled for Monday, February 20, 2012. The meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m. in the Train Depot, located at 614 Broad Street, Beaufort.  See a copy of the meeting agenda.

The public is invited to attend.

The Planning Board is composed of seven local citizens, five of whom are appointed by the Town of Beaufort and live within the Town corporate limits and two of whom are appointed by the Carteret County Board of Commissioners and reside within the town's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).  The Planning Board performs studies and makes recommendations to the Board of Commissioners related to plans, goals and objectives associated with the growth, development and redevelopment of the Town, as well as recommending changes concerning proposed planned building groups and zoning map changes.  The Planning Board also develops and recommends policies, ordinances, and administrative procedures related to planning issues.

In a recent Joint Workshop with the Board of Commissioners, five items were "assigned" to the 2011 Planning Board.  Those items were prioritized and are listed below in order:

1. ZONING ORDINANCE completion, a project the Planning Board began in 2010. The Commissioners felt this should be the top priority. The Planning Board hopes to get this to the Board of Commissioners early in 2012.

2. ARCHITECTURAL STANDARDS another item the Planning Board began and nearly completed in 2010.  The drawback was when members tried to decide what "the Beaufort look"  is exactly (as we are a diverse and unique Town). The Planning Board wants to work with an outside  consultant possibly to complete this task this summer.

3. CAUSEWAY DEVELOPMENT/ZONING. With the Town beginning the annexation process for residences and businesses along Old Causeway Road, the Planning Board will need to put together potential zoning of the existing properties and plans for future development in the area. They hope to start in late summer.

4. ENVIRONMENTAL/TREE COMMITTEE formation. The Planning Board will look to form one committee, possibly merging other committees, to look at such issues as recycling, trees, landscaping, etc.  It is likely the committee will fall under the jurisdiction of the Planning Board.

5. WEST BEAUFORT ROAD future plans & development. Recently it was discovered that West Beaufort Road has a lot of inconsistencies in its zoning (B-1, B-2, R-10, etc.). The Planning Board will look to see if the zoning can be made more uniform by rezoning properties. Also a big question comes to mind ... what happens to this area when the new bridge is constructed?

In 2010, fourteen of the fifteen items assigned were completed by the Planning Board.  2011 looks to be just as interesting and challenging a year as 2010. We hope you will stop in for one of our upcoming meetings.  Links to items of interest are listed below.

 2011 Planning Board Members 

(A photgraph of the Board is forthcoming.)

PLANNING BOARD LINKS 

2012 Planning Board Schedule

2012 Planning Board Agendas, Minutes, Public Notices 

2011 Agendas, Minutes, Public Notices

Water Access and Overlook Locations brochure

Zoning Ordinance, 1998

Hazard Mitigation Plan, March 2011