The Kannapolis City Council has approved the rewrite of the Kannapolis Development Ordinance (KDO). The ordinance was first approved by the City in 2000. The City, as well as development, has changed during the last 22 years. The new Kannapolis Development Ordinance is user-friendly, uses graphics and streamlined text and reflects the vision and policies of the City Council as laid out in the Move Kannapolis Forward 2030 Comprehensive Plan.
The ordinance is the adopted law of the City that regulates land use and form, growth, and development. It includes zoning regulations which governs the location, size and type of development within zoning districts and regulations for items such as subdivisions. The document also establishes the process for reviewing development proposals and includes standards for different aspects of development, like parking, landscaping, the layout of streets and blocks, lighting, signage, building design, trees, and environmental protections.
“This ordinance better reflects where we are as a City currently. Our goal is to facilitate and assist people who want to build in our City, but we want to manage that growth so that we have quality home, office and industrial buildings and developments. We expect this document to assist us to more easily help people with the approval process in the Planning Department – whether you are a homeowner who wants to install a fence or a developer who wants to build an office complex,” said Richard Smith, Director of Planning.
Over the last few years, the Planning Department has led the rewrite process. Numerous presentations and public meetings have been held with the public and development community members to gain input and information on what was needed to make the ordinance work.
Highlights of the new ordinance include:
- Conditional zoning procedures are reorganized and updated
- Planned development procedures are modernized
- New fence and wall standards
- New exterior lighting standards
- Updated parking lot landscaping and perimeter buffer standards
- Permits for tree removal will be required
- New comprehensive open space standards for developments
- Standards for quality of development and items that address height of buildings, types of lighting, signage, loading and storage areas and facades in mixed use districts
The new ordinance is effective July 1, 2022.