Officials are under pressure from developers threatening to sue or have their properties annexed.
Under pressure from developers, Beaufort County officials have put forward less-restrictive rules for planned communities than what was originally proposed under a new zoning ordinance. And annexation has got County Council and Planning Board members concerned about overly strict vesting provisions. We're putting forth an alternative rather than bog down the ordinance. Under revisions Wilson presented to members of the Joint Planning Board on Tuesday, PUD developers would retain their existing rights to build a certain amount until the year 2020 and would not have to buy development rights until after 2010. Under those terms, PUD developers would have more than a decade to build 28,000 homes they have approval to build but have not yet constructed without any significant changes to the rules under which they currently operate.