Morganton selects firm to overhaul development guidelines

Morganton City Council voted Monday to hire North Carolina-based planning and engineering firm Kimley-Horn to overhaul and consolidate the city’s development regulations, marking the next step in implementing the IMAGINE Morganton 2040 comprehensive plan.

The creation of the city’s Unified Development Ordinance is expected to modernize development standards that shape housing, infrastructure, and land use across Morganton. The effort has been underway since the comprehensive plan was adopted in September 2024 but was delayed due to Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.

The city council voted Monday evening to approve a contract for $238,000 and a contingency of $7,500. Included in the UDO will be updates to the city’s subdivision ordinance, zoning ordinance, flood damage prevention, vested rights, watershed protection, and stormwater regulations.

“It’s your guidebook. It’s your playbook. It outlines requirements for all of the development activity that’s going to happen in the City of Morganton,” said Kimley-Horn Project Manager Cindy Szwarckop.

Some aspects of the city’s development guide will definitely have to be updated, including the flood damage prevention chapter, which dates back to 2007, and the watershed protection chapter, which hasn’t been updated since 1994, Szwarckop said.

The City of Morganton is ahead of other municipalities in other areas, Szwarckop said, specifically in the allowance of accessory dwelling units in all residential zones, which many communities are struggling to implement.

“Having this as something that you already have in place is a great ability for hoping to help solve some of the housing problems,” Szwarckop said.

Szwarckop said the goal is to make regulations cleaner, more modern, and easier for residents, builders, and staff to understand through better flow, graphics, charts, clear definitions, and more.

“Keep it simple. That’s really one of my big tenets,” Szwarckop said. “Let’s make this language very easy to understand.”

A large emphasis will be placed on community engagement, Szwarckop said, adding that she will form an advisory committee, talking with stakeholders throughout the community. Meetings will include a series of pop-up sessions at festivals and other visible events, and at least three community meetings.

Every comment received by the Kimley-Horn team will be logged in a matrix that will be posted on the project website so everyone can see the types of concerns and how they will be addressed.

Before adoption around September 2027, community members will also be able to voice comments and concerns in a public hearing.

“We really want you to be concerned about this, because this really is going to set the stage for the community for the next few years,” Szwarckop said.