Proposed bill would return development approval authority to Brunswick County commissioners

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A newly filed bill in the North Carolina General Assembly could change who has the final say over development decisions in Brunswick County.

House Bill 1222, introduced Tuesday by Rep. Charles Miller, would shift approval authority for new developments from the county’s planning board back to the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners.

“The proposed bill, I do support that change,” said Brunswick Planning Board Chairman Clifton Cheek.

If approved, the legislation would remove final decision-making power from the planning board and return it to elected commissioners. Brunswick County is currently one of the few counties in North Carolina where the planning board holds final approval authority — a structure put in place in 2024 when commissioners voted to transfer that responsibility away from themselves.

“I have always thought that the final approval authority should lie with the county commissioners and not with the planning board,” Cheek said.

The proposed change comes as the Brunswick County Planning Board faces recent turnover and criticism. In March, members Jason Gaver and Jim Board resigned.

Board said one reason for his resignation was what he described as “a broken process,” citing concerns about rapid growth and infrastructure limitations.

“There is a huge concern about unchecked overdevelopment in Brunswick County,” Board said. “There’s not enough grocery stores to service this many people, there’s not enough doctors and nurses and hospital facilities to service all these new people, there’s not enough schools to educate our children.”

Those concerns intensified following the planning board’s approval of the Cherry Tree tract, a roughly 1,000-unit development that passed in a 4-1 vote after being previously denied in September. Board was the one dissenting vote against the development.

Board said those in charge of development decisions must carefully weigh long-term impacts.

“The planning board, in my opinion, has to bring in public sentiment, common sense, an educated view to the future and conceptually look at all of the development around the potential development to see how it all might interact with each other,” he said.

A similar proposal is expected in the state Senate from Sen. Bill Rabon.

A request for comment from Miller’s office was not immediately returned.