Amendments to the Land Development Code (also known as text amendments) may be initiated by the City Council, Planning Commission, City Manager or members of the public.
A pre-application meeting is required prior to submission of an application for a Land Development Code amendment. The purpose of the pre-application meeting is to provide an overview of the application process and general guidance on the proposed amendment. Pre-application meetings may be scheduled by emailing the Development Review team or calling 910.254.0900.
Public comment on pending applications is accepted in advance of both the Planning Commission and City Council public hearings through on-line portals. Members of the public may also contact the Development Review team with any questions they may have on pending applications.
The Planning Commission will hold a legislative hearing on the proposed land development code amendment at a regularly scheduled meeting. Prior to the hearing, planning staff will publish a case summary providing an overview of the request and recommended action. The case summary will be available on the Planning Commission webpage as part of the agenda packet for the meeting.
If the Planning Commission recommends approval of the application, a public hearing will be scheduled before the City Council. If the Commission recommends denial of the application, no further action will be taken unless the applicant files an appeal with the City Council.
All applications must be submitted electronically by emailing the Development Review team.
All application components (e.g. application, narrative, etc.) must be submitted individually and named accordingly.
$200
Regardless of whether the application is approved or denied by the City Council, the responsibility for all fees associated with the amendment process(PDF, 104KB) lies with the applicant(s) or their designated representative. Signing the petition for rezoning indicates the applicant (or their designated representative) accepts this financial responsibility.
If you plan to pay in advance, planning staff must first notify the collections department to enable acceptance of payments.
Payment by Phone (910. 343.4745)
Payment in Person
Payment by Mail
929 North Front Street, 1st Floor Wilmington, NC 28401
Applications to amend the Land Development Code are accepted on a quarterly basis.
Late Applications
Applications received after the established deadline will be included with the following quarter's review cycle submissions.