* On June 6, 2005, the Wake County Board of Commissioners approved the new UDO SUBDIVISION MODULE. All pending subdivisions in the approval process as of 6/6/05 will fall under the design standards of the Wake County Subdivision Ordinance (0510/05), in the links on the right of this page. Any Subdivision submitted for approval on or after 6/7/05 must meet the design criteria under the UDO Subdivision Module (06/06/05), also found in the links at right.
Wake County regulates land development within those areas of the County located outside the planning jurisdictions of its 12 municipalities (and those of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority and City of Durham). It does so principally through its Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Ordinance, which are developed, amended and administered under the guidance provided by the Wake County Land Use Plan.
The Subdivision Ordinance specifies procedures and standards for dividing a parcel of land into lots suitable for development and for the provision of appropriate access and utility service to those lots. Although State law exempts some divisions of land from County subdivision regulation, most divisions of land in Wake County occur in accord with the Subdivision Ordinance, either as a minor subdivision (no more than three lots served by a private road, or no more than six lots, otherwise) approved in a single step by the Planning Department's Zoning and Subdivision Administration (ZSA) Division, or as a regular subdivision approved in a three-step process, with Planning Director or Planning Board approval of a preliminary plan (after ZSA staff review and recommendation) and ZSA staff approvals of a construction plat and a record plat.
The review of proposed subdivisions is essentially an administrative action, where ZSA staff or Planning Board have virtually no discretion – they must simply determine whether or not the proposal complies with the Ordinance's specific standards. The Subdivision Ordinance also establishes formal processes whereby the Board of Commissioners can hear and decide appeals from staff and Planning Board decisions. And the Ordinance authorizes the Planning Board to grant variances from a subdivision regulation where evidence demonstrates that strict compliance with the regulation would prevent any subdivision because of extraordinary circumstances peculiar to the land.
Where necessary to implement current County policy or reflect changing County policy, the Board of Commissioners may change the text of the Subdivision Ordinance.
For more information about subdivision regulation, contact:
FAX: 919-856-5824
Subdivision Administration staff are located at the Permits/Plans Review Center, Mall level, Wake County Office Building, 336 Fayetteville St., Downtown Raleigh.