Northampton sends revised Town Edge Ordinance back to Planning Commission

The Northampton County Board of Supervisors is sending its revised Town Edge zoning ordinance back to the Planning Commission for another 60 days of review and a second public hearing.

County Attorney Ellen Bowyer told supervisors that the version before them incorporates changes made since the Planning Commission’s June 16 public hearing, with the revised language marked so commissioners can focus on the sections changed by the board.

Supervisor Jon Dempster suggested beginning the 60-day review period with the Planning Commission’s next scheduled meeting rather than immediately upon the board’s referral. The next Planning Commission work session is scheduled for Oct. 6, giving commissioners more time and additional meeting opportunities to consider the revised language. Northampton County’s zoning ordinance provides for the review period to run from the first Planning Commission meeting after a proposed amendment is referred.

Ordinance 2026-001 would establish new Town Edge Residential, or TE-R, development rules for areas near incorporated towns. At a broad level, the proposal is designed to allow denser residential development and a mixture of housing types, limited commercial uses and public amenities, in an effort to create more affordable housing.

The revised proposal also includes affordable-housing requirements, development standards for apartments and other residential projects, stronger groundwater-review provisions and a system requiring the county to revisit the rules after certain development thresholds are reached.

The ordinance has already undergone months of review. Earlier this month, supervisors agreed to return it to the Planning Commission rather than move directly toward final action.

Following the Planning Commission’s review and public hearing, the ordinance would return to the Board of Supervisors for further consideration.