Rezoning Case Z-936 Appeal Request:
Planning Director Kirstie Dixon presented the Rezoning Case Z-936 Appeal Request to the board in a de novo hearing as outlined in Article 3, Section 3.8.9 of the UDO, meaning the board decides on the issue as if for the first time without deference to any previous decisions.
The applicant, Summerlin Commercial LLC, requested to rezone their property located at 1230 Southport-Supply Road SE on April 29.
Previously, the Planning Board held a public hearing at its June 8 meeting where members voted 3 to 1 to approve the rezoning.
On June 22, the Winding River Plantation Association Board of Directors submitted a letter appealing the Planning Board's decision. County Attorney Bryan Batton determined the group had standing to appeal the planning board’s decision.
The proposed rezoning site, currently classified as RR (Rural Low Density Residential), spans 25.1 acres across Southport-Supply Road from the intersection of Old Lennon Road SE. The applicant was seeking to rezone the land to NC (Neighborhood Commercial), along with a land use plan amendment to Commercial (Retail & Office).
The Commissioners moved 4 to 1 to approve the rezoning to Neighborhood Commercial. Commissioner Randy Thompson dissented.
Rezoning Case Z-938 Appeal Request:
In another de novo hearing, Jeff Walton with the county’s planning department presented Rezoning Case Z-938 to rezone land located at 1105 Seaside Road SW near Sunset Beach, from SB-MR-3 (Former Sunset Beach ETJ — Mainland Multifamily Residential District) to C-LD (Commercial Low Density); and to assign a Commercial (Retail & Office) land use designation.
The planning department initiated this rezoning request in coordination with the property owner, Shelia McLamb of New Purpose LLC.
Residents of the Sea Village community Barbara Taylor, Scott and Cindy Swett submitted written appeals of the Planning Board’s 4 to 1 approval, decided at its July 13 meeting.
Taylor cited wildlife and environmental concerns; McLamb assured the Planning Board at their meeting in July that the rezoning would not have a significant impact on traffic in the area, nor would it impact wildlife, scoring a 0 out of 10 on a wildlife habitat assessment.
At Monday night’s meeting, Taylor argued during the public hearing portion of the rezoning discussion that “if that land is developed, and especially if the watershed on the south end of that land is disturbed in any way, the houses along Market Place are going to have serious, serious flooding concerns.”
Commissioners ultimately moved in favor of the rezoning, with Thompson once again being the dissenting voice.
Commissioner Marty Cooke argued in support of the rezoning, saying that it ultimately conforms to the county’s Blueprint Brunswick 2040 Plan, a Comprehensive Land Use Plan and a Parks and Recreation Master Plan used to guide future growth and investments in infrastructure throughout the county.
“It also conforms to other zoning in the area, with respect to flooding,” Cooke said. “That is also addressed whenever they have a stormwater permit, which 90% has to routinely be retained on property. It was approved for four to one approval by the planning board. It was also vetted by the planning staff, and it seems to be consistent.”
Special Use Permit Case 26-12S - Salty Paws Dog Daycare
The commissioners also held a hearing for a special use permit case at last night’s meeting. The discussion over small business owners’ rights stirred a fervent, and maybe controversial, debate over a law they said is an overreach by the state.
A special use permit application submitted for a proposed kennel in Brunswick County caused debate among the Commissioners on whether to unlawfully approve it in spite of a recently passed bill requiring a traffic impact analysis for special use permits.
Four of the commissioners went through with the approval.
Jennifer Erin Anderson submitted a special use application — along with a site plan and letters of justification — for the operation of a kennel within an existing retail commercial space on July 22, 2026; the kennel would be called Salty Paws Doggy Daycare.
The proposed use of the property at 2567 Holden Beach Road SW, which could serve as the future site of Salty Paws, is technically permissible in the Commercial-Low Density zoning district it sits in based on the board’s approval of a Special Use Permit (SUP).
However, on July 2, 2026, state legislators passed House Bill 1222 mandating that the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners shall require a traffic impact analysis (TIA) be submitted with applications for SUPs. Additionally, under the bill, all residential or commercial projects anticipated to generate at least 100 vehicle trips at peak hour, or the equivalent of 1,000 vehicle trips per day, must undergo a TIA.
According to county records, Anderson’s submission 20 days after the bill was enacted, lacked a TIA. Due to this, Brunswick County Planning Staff determined the application was incomplete.
At last night’s meeting, commissioners lamented the odds now stacked against the applicant, considering the kennel met all the criteria for the SUP. They noted the significant financial burden of TIAs — approximately a quarter of a million dollars — on small businesses like Anderson’s.
Commissioners played verbal tug-of-war of “should they” or “shouldn’t they” when deciding whether to approve Anderson’s permit despite the state’s requirement of a TIA.
Four commissioners approved the permit, but Williams dissented.
During their discussion, the commissioners expressed their need for clarification from NCDOT and the sponsor of HB 1222, Republican Rep. Charlie Miller, on the requirement of a TIA.
Vice Chairman Marty Cooke said, before motioning to approve, “my concern is that if we approve it tonight, and the General Assembly's House Bill 1222 says, ‘Thou shalt have a TIA,’ then we've approved in a sense, and I'm not an attorney, an illegal thing.”
County Attorney Bryan Batton, provided this response believing the hearing had closed, “I do believe DOT said they do not require a traffic impact analysis for some of these uses. And if they're not required, even if the county requires it because of special legislation, they're not going to review it.”
Commissioner Williams took a stance on his more straightforward interpretation of HB 1222.
“I've got the law pulled up here and to me, it says that you shall have a TIA for a special use permit,” he said. “Every bone in my body wants to support this, but I'm with what Commissioner Cook said a minute ago.”
Chairman Mike Forte called the law “too restrictive,” agreeing with commissioners Pat Sykes and Cooke, that lawmakers in Raleigh should consider the potential impact of this law on mom-and-pop businesses if the statute were ever amended.
Commissioner Randy Thompson jovially remarked, “there may be two state agents at my house in the morning.”
Brunswick County Cemetery Committee
Commissioners heard from Marc Pages, a deputy director with Brunswick County, about the creation of a Brunswick County Cemetery Committee.
Pages said cemeteries have become a “hot topic” amongst residents and local government officials, with ongoing discussions related to the protection and preservation of these final resting plots.
He referenced reports of buildings being constructed on gravesites, like that of Joseph Hewett. StarNews reported in 2007 that a mobile home was built over Hewett’s and his family’s graves on Holden Beach.
This prompted Commissioner Sykes to speak out.
“It was my family,” Sykes said. “They destroyed all the stones, and we got no help.”
Nevertheless, Sykes was adamant that the county didn’t need to create a committee if an ordinance protecting the cemeteries could address most of these concerns, which Sykes wrote up herself and served to the board.
Chairman Forte sided with Sykes, and suggested having both the ordinance and the committee.
“I always worry about death by committee. We form these committees, as Commissioner Sykes said, and they go on for two and three years, and nothing gets done, nothing,” Forte said.
The committee agreed with the approach, approving the creation of the committee unanimously, and moving for the county attorney to review Sykes’ ordinance before being brought up for a vote at next month’s agenda meeting.
Review the full Aug. 17 Brunswick County Board of Commissioners meeting recap and more here.
