For the purpose of this chapter, the areas affected are divided into the following classes of districts:

(1)

Residential districts. Residential conventional zoning districts are composed of certain existing residential areas of the town and certain areas where similar residential development appears likely to occur. The regulations for these districts are designed to stabilize and protect the essential characteristics of each district by promoting and encouraging a suitable environment for family life and prohibiting certain activities of a commercial or industrial nature. To these ends, development is limited to dwellings which provide homes for the residents plus certain additional uses such as schools, parks, recreation facilities and certain other public facilities. This system of classification is utilized to optimize orderly development by providing a variety of living environments based on different levels of permitted population density, facilitating the adequate provision of transportation and other public facilities.

a.

RR Rural Residential District. A district for traditionally rural use with lots of 20,000 square feet or above. The principal use of the land is for low-density residential and agricultural purposes. These districts are intended to ensure that residential development not having access to public water supplies and dependent upon septic tanks for sewage disposal will occur at a sufficiently low density to provide a healthful environment.

b.

R-15 Residential District. A district designed primarily for single-family dwelling units with a lot area of 15,000 square feet or above.

c.

R-10 Residential District. A district designed primarily for single-family dwellings on medium-sized lots with area of 10,000 square feet or above.

d.

R-6A Residential District. A district designed for a mix of single- and multi-family dwellings including the use of mobile homes in mobile home parks only.

e.

R-6 Residential District. A district designed for a mix of single- and multi-family dwellings.

f.

R-5A Residential District. A district designed primarily for multi-family housing with a maximum of 13.5 dwelling units per net acre.

g.

R-5 Residential District. A district designed primarily for multi-family dwelling units with a density greater than that allowed in R-5A.

h.

PND Planned Neighborhood District. A district for the planned development of various residential densities concurrent with neighborhood-oriented uses in a single project.

[Note:

Family care homes as defined in G.S. 160D-907 must be permitted in all residential zoning districts, however, no family care home may be located within a one-half mile to another such defined and regulated family care home].

(2)

O & I Office and Institutional District. This conventional zoning district is designed primarily for agencies and offices rendering specialized services in the professions, finance, real estate and brokerage as well as the traditional institutional functions both public and private, public assembly, religious and certain cultural recreational activities and group housing. The uses in this district classification may be characterized as having no retail or wholesale trade, except as incidental use. The district is normally small and often situated between business and residential areas. The regulations are designed for maintaining more compatibility with nearby residential districts than would exist with a commercial district.

(3)

HS(P) Planned Highway Service District. This conventional zoning district is designed for commercial establishments serving transients using only the major highway systems traversing the county. The range of retail and service uses in this district are restricted to those essential to the traveler and therefore, by nature, are inhibiting the generation and potential congestion of local traffic. The district is customarily located near the intersection of limited access facilities and major arterial streets. Plan approval is a requirement for developments proposed for the district.

(4)

C(P) Planned Commercial District. The intent of this conventional zoning district is to assure the grouping of buildings on a parcel of land so as to constitute a harmonious, efficient and convenient retail shopping area. To promote the essential design features within this district, plan approval is required. Any site plan shall assure traffic safety and the harmonious and beneficial relations between the commercial area and contiguous land.

(5)

C-1 Local Business District. This conventional zoning district is designed to cater to the ordinary shopping needs of the immediate neighborhood with emphasis on convenience goods. This district is customarily located adjacent to any arterial street and generally surrounded by residential areas.

(6)

C-3 Heavy Commercial District. This conventional zoning district is designed primarily for a wide variety of retail and wholesale business, commercial and contract services, commercial recreation and amusement, public assembly and office uses. Since this district has such a wide selection of uses, it will not be expanded without consideration as to its effect on surrounding lands and is limited to those areas of mixed commercial activity which lie adjacent [to] or at the intersection of major arterials and those areas which exhibit a highly mixed composition of commercial land uses.

(7)

CB Central Business District. This conventional zoning district is intended to preserve and enhance the original downtown area as a compact, viable and convenient location for a wide variety of commercial and office uses. Residential uses are permitted only in conjunction with a mixed use building or mixed use development, and shall be located to the rear or on the second floor of or above any structure. To preserve the compactness of the area and to lessen congestion the display, sales and storage of goods is conducted entirely within enclosed buildings. The yard requirements are based generally on the pattern of existing development so as to minimize dimensional disparities and to preserve the continued usefulness and essential character of the existing buildings located in the downtown area. In order to promote coordination and the compatible intermixture or residential and commercial development, this district is a planned district and site plan review is required for every development, re-development or change-in-use.

[Note: Mixed use buildings and mixed use developments are currently allowed in the Spring Lake ordinance.]

(8)

M(P) Planned Industrial District. This conventional zoning district is designed primarily as a restricted industrial and wholesale area which by location and design is compatible with surrounding or abutting residential, commercial, or light industrial areas. The general intent of this district is to permit uses confined to service, wholesaling, manufacturing, fabrication and processing activities that can be carried an in an unobstructed manner characterized by low concentration and limited external effects with suitable open spaces, landscaping, parking and service areas. The district is customarily located between other industrial areas and residential uses or in locations which are served by major roads but are not feasible for other industrial districts because of proximity to residential uses. To promote the essential design features within the M(P) District, plan approval is a requirement.

(9)

M-1(P) Planned Light Industrial District. This conventional zoning district is designed for a wide variety of light industrial operations involving manufacturing, processing, and fabrication of material; operations involving wholesaling and bulk storage; accommodating a limited range of administrative offices, institutional and commercial services; a variety of research and development uses; and certain public assembly and recreational uses with all operations conducted entirely within a structure. The general intent of the district is to prohibit residential and heavy industrial uses of the land. By their nature, the uses permitted in this district are generally not compatible with residential or shopping center uses. Access and compatibility with the surrounding uses are the most important location criteria for the light industrial districts. In addition, by allowing a wide range of permitted uses, this district is intended to accommodate the development of "flex space" arrangements, where at the time of initial site plan approval the developer can establish different combinations of allowable uses on a site over time. For assurance of conformance to the standards established by this ordinance [chapter], this district should only be considered for tracts of land five acres or greater in size and staff level site plan approval is required for any change in use.

(10)

M-2 Heavy Industrial District. This conventional zoning district is designed primarily for basis manufacturing and processing industries, all of which normally create a high degree of nuisance and are not generally compatible with residential or commercial and service use. The general intent is to encourage the continued use of certain lands in the town for heavy industrial purpose. The district is customarily located on larger tracts of land with good highway and rail access buffered from residential districts by other more compatible uses. Commercial activities are not permitted, except those having only limited contract with the general public and those not involving the same of merchandise at retail except for items produced on the premises or for the purpose of serving employees, guests, and other person who are within the district with an industrial activity.

(11)

Conditional District (CD). Each zoning district ordained by this chapter includes a companion Conditional District (e.g., R15 has R15/CD). Property may be placed in a Conditional District only in response to a petition by all owners of the property to be included. Specific conditions may be proposed by the petitioner or the town or its agencies, but only those conditions approved by the town and consented to by the petitioner in writing may be incorporated into the zoning regulations.

(12)

Mixed Use Development/Conditional District (MXD/CD). The purpose of this district is to encourage innovative development on a conditional zoning basis by providing use flexibility while maintaining quality design standards tempered with proper controls regarding buffering, landscaping, open space designation, density and other conditions. (See section 42-139.)

(13)

Planned Neighborhood Development/Conditional District (PND/CD). A district designed for the planned development of various residential densities concurrent with neighborhood-oriented uses in a single project. (See section 42-140.)

(14)

Density Development/Conditional District (DD/CD). The purpose of this district is to promote and encourage the preservation of open space within the town through permanent restriction of development on a percentage of a tract, buffering, and clustering of lots, while at the same time providing for the residential development of land. (See section 42-141.)

(15)

Dormant zoning districts. This amendment of the zoning chapter makes dormant certain previously existing zoning districts created under the town's Code of Ordinances, zoning chapter of January 10, 1972, and subsequent amendments. The PND Planned Neighborhood District is now dormant and development shall either comply with the standards of R-10 or shall be submitted for approval under section 42-140.

(16)

Reserved.

(17)

Main Street Overlay District (MSOD). An overlay zoning district intended to protect and enhance the traditional downtown main street area by maintaining and stimulating a pedestrian-friendly, vibrant environment while encouraging economic growth that compliments and expands the unique character of the downtown area. Individual structures are encouraged to be multi-story with uses mixed vertically, street level commercial and upper level office and/or residential. It is the purpose of these regulations to encourage vitality by excluding certain activities which have a negative effect on the public realm through motor vehicle dominated or non-pedestrian oriented design or uses. To facilitate the purpose and intent of this overlay district, proposed uses and all development plans shall be consistent with the regulations as contained within this chapter for the CB central business district.

(18)

CD Conservancy District. This conventional zoning district is designed to preserve and protect identifiable natural resources from urban encroachment. The general intent of the district is to provide open area uses for such resource areas that will continue to provide limited development potential while preserving existing conditions to the extent feasible. Areas to be zoned in this district shall be identifiable as swamp, marsh, flood land, poor or very severe soils areas or managed and unmanaged woodland on USGS (Geological Survey) maps, soil maps prepared by the USDA (Department of Agriculture) Soil Conservation Service or other appropriate sources and on file in the county planning department.

(Code 1978, § 12.20; Code 1995, § 156.020; Ord. of 1-10-1972; Ord. of 9-11-1995; Ord. of 4-23-2001; Ord. of 11-25-2002(01), § 156.020(A)(2); Ord. No. 2007-2, § 156.020, 11-26-2007; Ord. No. 2009-11, § 2, 5-26-2009; Ord. No. (2012)10, § 1, 8-13-2012; Ord. No. (2014)17, 9-22-2014; Ord. No. (2016)2, § 1, 2-22-2016; Ord. No. (2021)1, 6-28-2021)

Per G.S. 160D-105, the board of aldermen has adopted a Zoning Map entitled "Official Zoning Map, Town of Spring Lake, NC" which is retained in the office of the Town Clerk. The Official Zoning Map and notations thereon are hereby designated, established, and incorporated as a part of these regulations and shall be as much a part of these regulations as if they were fully described herein. The maps may be in paper or a digital format approved by the town and may be reproduced by any method of reproduction that gives legible and permanent copies and, when certified by the town clerk in accordance with G.S. 160A-79, shall be admissible into evidence and shall have the same force and effect as would the original map.

Development regulations adopted pursuant to this ordinance may reference or incorporate by reference flood insurance rate maps, watershed boundary maps, or other maps officially adopted or promulgated by state and federal agencies. For these maps a regulation text or zoning map may reference a specific officially adopted map or may incorporate by reference the most recent officially adopted version of such maps. When zoning district boundaries are based on these maps, the regulation may provide that the zoning district boundaries are automatically amended to remain consistent with changes in the officially promulgated state or federal maps, provided a copy of the currently effective version of any incorporated map shall be maintained for public inspection as provided in subsection this section.

(Code 1978, § 12.87(a); Code 1995, § 156.021; Ord. of 1-10-1972; Ord. No. (2021)1, 6-28-2021)

If dispute exists as to the boundaries of any district shown on the zoning maps, the following rules shall apply:

(1)

Extensions of line. Where such district boundaries are indicated as approximately following street or railroad rights-of-way, alley lines and lot lines, or extensions of such lines, such lines shall be considered to be such boundaries. Where district boundaries are indicated as approximately following the centerline of stream beds or river beds, or such centerlines extended, such centerlines shall be considered to be such boundaries.

(2)

Unsubdivided property. In unsubdivided property or where a district boundary divides a lot, the location of such boundary, unless the same is indicated by dimensions shown on the map, shall be determined by the use of the scale of the map.

(3)

Physical or cultural features. Where physical or cultural features existing on the ground are at variance with those shown on the zoning maps, or in other circumstances not covered by subsections (a) and (b) of this section, and in instances where none of the above methods are sufficient to resolve the boundary location by the administrative officer, the board of adjustment shall interpret the district boundaries.

(Code 1978, § 12.87(b); Code 1995, § 156.022; Ord. of 1-10-1972; Ord. No. (2021)1, 6-28-2021)