About the Planning Board
The Planning Board, as authorized by G.S. 153A-321, acts as an advisory board to the Pender County Board of Commissioners with regard to 1) preparation and adoption of the comprehensive plan and other plans (such as small area plans, natural resource protection plans, transportation plans, etc.), and 2) implementation of those plans by various mechanisms, especially preparation and application of the Zoning Ordinance. The Planning Board’s role with regard to zoning issues is to conduct public hearings on proposed changes to the Official Zoning Map (i.e., rezoning requests) and proposed amendments to the Zoning Ordinance (i.e., text amendments). In addition to these advisory functions, the Planning Board acts as a final decision-making board in regard to subdivision of land and review of master development plans.