Planning Board Special Meeting

Town of Swansboro Planning Board Special Meeting Minutes February 12, 2026 Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 5:31pm. Board members in attendance were Christina Ramsey, Tom Pieratti, Sherrie Hancock, Doug Rogers, Frank Tursi and Jamie Petani. Frank Jones was absent. Approval of Minutes On a motion by Mr. Pieratti, seconded by Mr. Rogers the December 2, 2025, Regular Meeting Minutes were unanimously approved. Business Rezoning Request- Parcel ID 012535 (Swansboro Loop Road) Planner Rebecca Brehmer reviewed that Pinnacle Construction and Development, LLC, on behalf of property owners, Family Freedom, LLC had submitted a rezoning request for a property on Swansboro Loop Road from RA - Residential/Agricultural to R10SF - Residential. The property was located in Swansboro’s ETJ, and was further identified as tax parcel ID 012535, and the total acreage requested for rezoning was +/- 1 acre. Planner Brehmer shared that the applicant was under contract to purchase the property, contingent upon approval of the rezoning request. She explained that the applicant planned to subdivide the property to construct two to three single-family homes, which would not have been permitted under the existing RA zoning due to the minimum lot size requirement of 1.5 acres. She further noted that the CAMA Land Use Plan designated the property as Rural Agricultural, emphasizing the preservation of existing agricultural lands. Based on this designation, she stated that the rezoning request did not appear to be consistent with the Future Land Use Plan. The application’s history was also reviewed. She stated that the application was first heard by the Planning Board at its December 2, 2025, regular meeting, at which time the Planning Board did not recommend approval of the rezoning request to the Board of Commissioners due to inconsistency with the Future Land Use Plan. The request was subsequently reviewed at the January 27, 2026, regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners. At that meeting, the Board of Commissioners approved a motion to return the application to the Planning Board for further review and a new recommendation after receiving information that a Planning Board member’s vote at the December 2, 2025, meeting had been made in error. The Board engaged discussion regarding the relationship between the current zoning and the Future Land Use Plan. The discussion centered on the tension between adhering to the outdated plan and recognizing existing development patterns in the surrounding area. Mr. Pieratti stated that the Future Land Use Plan was outdated, explaining that large areas designated as agricultural on the 2019 plan had since been rezoned for residential use and no longer reflected existing conditions or current zoning. He further emphasized that denying the rezoning request for the one-acre parcel, given the extent of surrounding development, would have been a disservice to the town and would have signaled an unwillingness to accommodate reasonable change or development. Page 1 of 2 Mr. Tursi stated that the request presented a difficult decision, noting that although the property was adjacent to residential zoning, those designations had resulted from prior amendments to the Land Use Plan. He explained that the 2019 Land Use Plan update had been a lengthy process involving extensive public input, while later changes had been made through board action. Mr. Tursi emphasized that the Board had to decide whether to continue approving incremental changes inconsistent with the plan or to adhere to it as adopted and to recommend denial based on that inconsistency. On a motion by Mr. Tursi, seconded by Mrs. Hancock, the rezoning request for Parcel ID 012535 (Swansboro Loop Road) was recommended for denial to the Board of Commissioners along with finding that it was not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. The motion passed 5:1. Ayes: Mr. Tursi, Mrs. Ramsey, Mrs. Petani, Mr. Rogers, Mrs. Hancock Noes: Mr. Pieratti Public Comments Citizens were offered an opportunity to address the Board. No comments were made. Adjournment On a motion by Mr. Pieratti, seconded by Mr. Tursi, the meeting adjourned at 5:54pm. Page 2 of 2