TITLE
Title
TEXT AMENDMENT CASE #26-03-PLBD-00016 TO AMEND SUBSECTION 10.06 (CIVIL PENALTIES - ASSESSMENT AND PROCEDURES) OF THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE (UDO) TO ESTABLISH SPECIFIC CIVIL PENALTY AMOUNTS FOR VIOLATIONS OF UDO REGULATIONS
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SPONSOR
Sponsor
J. Leslie Bell
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BACKGROUND
Background
Proposed Text Amendment Case #26-03-PLBD-00016 (attached) seeks to update UDO Subsection 10.06: Civil Penalties - Assessment and Procedures, to establish specific civil penalties (monetary) for violations of the UDO that do not currently have a specified civil penalty amount and that currently only references NCGS 160D-404(c), which enables counties to enforce development regulations by assessing civil penalties for ordinance violations by any of the remedies provided in NCGS 153A-123.
The UDO establishes specific civil penalties (monetary) for some violations, including parts of Subsection 9.1: Stormwater Management and Watershed Protection Districts (see Subsection 9.1.F.5(d)(iv)(5)), Subsection 9.2: Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control (see Subsection 10.07), and Subsection 9.4: Illicit and Illegal Discharges (see Subsection 9-4.12). This text amendment would apply specific civil penalties (monetary) for all other violations of the UDO including, but not limited to, all zoning and subdivision violations.
As such, this text amendment proposes the following civil penalties:
1st Offense - $50.00;
2nd Offense - $100.00;
3rd Offense - $200.00; and
4th and Succeeding Offense - $500.00.
NOTE: UDO Subsection 10.03.C specifies that “every calendar day an offense is not remedied after being served a Notice of Violation shall be considered a separate offense.” If approved, this text amendment would become effective July 1, 2026 and following adoption of the approved Fee Schedule as part of the Guilford County FY 2026-27 budget.
Staff conducted a review of the civil penalty amounts assessed by neighboring jurisdictions of comparable size (table attached). The proposed amounts are consistent with the civil penalties assessed by both the City of Greensboro and the City of High Point.
At its April 8, 2026, regular meeting (minutes attached), the Guilford County Planning Board recommended approval of this text amendment to the Board of Commissioners by a vote of 6-0, with three members absent. (Ayes: Donnelly, Craft, Little, Bui, Drumwright, Alston. Nays: None.). The staff report is also attached.
Consistency: The proposed text amendment to establish specific civil penalty amounts is consistent with the Planning Theme of Community Character. The Goal Statement of the Community Character Planning Theme is to “Celebrate Guilford County’s unique sense of place by balancing agricultural preservation with desired development patterns, context-sensitive site design and placemaking.” The proposed text amendment supports preservation of community character and emphasizes safe neighborhoods by furthering the County’s ability to ensure compliance with the UDO and obtain correction of violations.
The text amendment is also consistent with the Planning Theme of Attainable Housing. Policy 4 of the Attainable Housing Planning Theme seeks to “Encourage the preservation, maintenance, and development of high-quality and safe housing.” The purpose of the UDO is to promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the residents of Guilford County and the proposed text amendment aligns with this purpose.
The Board of Commissioners is not limited to the proposed language of the text amendment. It may consider changes to the proposed text amendment.
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BUDGET IMPACT
Budget Impact
NO ADDITIONAL COUNTY FUNDS REQUIRED
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REQUESTED ACTION
Requested Action
Hold a legislative hearing and adopt the amendments proposed in UDO Text Amendment Case #26-03-PLBD-00016 and the aforementioned statement of plan consistency, as presented herein, to amend Subsection 10.06: Civil Penalties - Assessment and Procedures to establish specific civil penalties (monetary) for violations of UDO regulations that do not currently have a specified civil penalty amount and amend the fee schedule to incorporate same; effective July 1, 2026.
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