PTC 8 wasn't a hurricane, or a tropical storm, or even a named storm. But Brunswick County emergency management director David McIntire said it still wreaked havoc on the Lower Cape Fear.
"It doesn't take a named storm to make huge impacts to a community, especially Brunswick County," he said.
Over the past year, local, county, and state agencies have made progress on rebuilding Brunswick County's infrastructure. US-17, which had been shut down for several days following the flood, reopened. Southport's bridges and roadways, which sustained major damage in the flood, came back online. County residents and officials alike worked to dispose of debris, spray for mosquitoes, and repair flooded homes.
They've also watched flooding impact other communities. Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina only a week later. Then this past summer, flash flooding in central Texas killed over 130 people, and Tropical Storm Chantal wiped out many roadways in central North Carolina. Public officials say it's part of a trend: Storm systems all over the world are growing more powerful, and causing more damage.
A question on many public officials' minds now is how to build stronger, more resilient infrastructure. Their other questions: how to do it within the bounds of state law, and do it quickly, before the next major storm.
Leland's flood zones
PTC 8 walloped the southern half of Brunswick County. But the storm also brought flooding to parts of Leland — specifically the Stoney Creek neighborhood, where 18 homes were substantially damaged by the storm.
Bill McHugh is a member of the Leland Town Council. After witnessing the flooding at Stoney Creek, he began working on a proposal to expand the town's flood ordinance.
"After Potential Tropical Cyclone 8, it became very clear that, you know, we're staring down the barrel of a very serious issue moving forward," he told WHQR.
McHugh's proposal was informed by a similar ordinance in Raleigh, where residential development is banned in flood zones with few exceptions. The proposal would require neighborhoods in flood zones to be built at a lower density, lift houses slightly higher (from 2 feet of elevation to 4), and restrict fill to raise a property out of the flood zone. It would also expand the flood protection ordinance to cover 500-year flood zones in addition to 100-year flood zones. The ordinance would have only impacted new construction; existing structures would not need to be remodeled.
McHugh's proposal got unanimous approval from the town's planning board. But during a meeting in July, the measure was voted down 3 to 2.
"We started to get very severe push back from the real estate and the development community, basically, you know, decrying this as some sort of extreme action against development and home building, and how it was, you know, going to be destructive to housing and the American dream," he told WHQR. "I mean, we're talking about, like, 140 acres throughout the entire town of Leland here."
Some officials were also worried about lawsuits. In 2024, the North Carolina state legislature passed SB 382, prohibiting governments from amending zoning ordinances without the express permission from all property owners involved. Without written consent, property owners could sue.
McHugh maintains that his plan is not a zoning ordinance amendment, but a flood protection ordinance.
"So it should not be subject to SB 382," he said. "[But] that is untested in the courts. And I believe that is the concern of a lot of folks involved here, is that a lot of them don't want [Leland] to be the guinea pig."
County level
Deputy county manager Niel Brooks told WHQR that SB 382 has also complicated Brunswick County's ability to manage floodwaters.
"That bill makes a lot of requirements there, particularly as it comes to what's called downzoning," he said.
Downzoning means rezoning an area to be less dense than it previously was, or reducing the permitted uses of the land from what it once was. Public officials could use downzoning as a means to prevent further residential development on floodplains or to require further stormwater drainage in certain areas. But under SB 382, they'd have to get a property owner's approval first.
"We really are limited right now at the state level with what we can do when it comes to certain stormwater and flood prevention," Brooks said.
Still, he and other county officials are trying to work with what they've got.
"We think there probably are some things that we can do that don't fall into that downzoning bucket, and those are the things that we're going to be pursuing here, likely in the next several months," he told WHQR.
Future developments
One of those things is conducting research on offering a county stormwater utility. The county commission recently authorized a feasibility study on the subject. If the commission likes the outlook, then it could potentially create a fund dedicated to helping county residents keep drains, ditches, and other stormwater infrastructure running smoothly.
The results of that study won't come for at least a few months. But Brooks told WHQR that stormwater is still a top priority.
"I think the county recognizes that this is something that folks are concerned about. We're concerned about it," he said. "We're looking every day at ways that we can improve this."
As for Leland, McHugh is eyeing a date sometime in October to hold a community workshop addressing the flood ordinance and open burning in northern Brunswick – another major environmental concern for residents. He told WHQR he's still trying to figure out how to prevent another Stoney Creek.
"There's very little we can do to stop or control [growth]," he said. "But we can prepare for it, right? We can stay ahead on infrastructure. We can make sure that these buildings are built safely. We can make sure that we aren't creating flooding and storm water problems for future residents, for existing residents. We need to act and we need to act fast, because it's coming fast."
Read more:
- Port City Daily: Brunswick considers creating stormwater utility, expanding buffer requirements to improve resiliency
- Port City Daily: Leland tables flooding ordinance, for now, after pushback
- Port City Daily: ‘Something to put our teeth into’: Brunswick eyes ordinance overhaul to combat flood risks
- WECT: ‘People feel forgotten about’: Leland families say they are still waiting for help weeks after Potential Tropical Cyclone 8
