At the March 11, 2025 Town Council meeting, the team redeveloping Shoppes on the Parkway asked for approval of a three-story, 400-foot-long building with 34 two- and three-bedroom condominiums. Blowing Rock News reported that the board disliked both the density and the look of the building and tabled the request. The developers came back in August with three smaller buildings, fewer units and more green space. On August 12, 2025, Council approved it 4–1.
Council could send that plan back because the developers had asked for a conditional rezoning, not a permit. Blowing Rock is now formally studying whether conditional rezoning should become the main way anything significant gets approved in town. For anyone buying a home near a shopping center, an older inn or an underused commercial lot, the outcome affects how much a neighbor can say when that parcel changes.
Three Ways a Project Gets Approved in Blowing Rock
An August 25, 2026 memo from Planning Director Kevin Rothrock and Town Attorney Joey Petrack lists the town's current routes to approval.
- Zoning permit. Town staff approve it when the use is allowed by right in that district.
- Special use permit. Town Council decides it in a quasi-judicial hearing, which works more like a court proceeding than a public meeting.
- Conditional zoning. Council decides it as a legislative act, and the applicant can propose specific conditions, sometimes in exchange for relief elsewhere in the plan.
The Land Use Code's Table of Permissible Uses assigns each use to one of these routes, depending on the zoning district. If a use requires a special use permit, the applicant can choose conditional rezoning instead.
According to the memo, special use permits were the town's main tool for reviewing development from the early 1980s through 2014. After conditional zoning arrived in 2014, applicants increasingly chose it for its flexibility and transparency.
Who Can Speak, and What Council Can Weigh
The two processes differ most in who gets heard. At the June 16, 2026 Council meeting, Petrack explained that before a special use permit hearing begins, Council decides who has standing. A person with standing becomes an intervenor and a party to the case, and that status is what allows them to speak. Rothrock added that Council members cannot discuss the project with each other or with the public outside the hearing. They also cannot consider comments made at an earlier Planning Board meeting.
Conditional zoning works differently. The memo says it gives the public more room to comment because quasi-judicial rules don't apply, and it lets developers talk openly with Planning Board and Council members while the review is underway. The memo is equally direct about the cost to developers.
"Because conditional zoning decisions are legislative in nature, Council is under no obligation to approve a proposed project. Consequently, developers have substantially less assurance of approval, even when all applicable Land Use Code requirements are satisfied."
The Shoppes on the Parkway meeting shows what that discretion looks like in practice. The shopping center was first built in the 1980s under a special use permit. The current owners asked to rezone the 17-acre property from General Business to Conditional Zoning-General Business, and that request put the size and look of the building up for negotiation.
Recent town decisions have used both routes, and some have taken more than one turn. Blowing Rock News reported that on November 12, 2024, Council approved Pine and Laurel, a 0.29-acre project, as CZ-CB by a 4–1 vote. That plan proposed eight townhouses in place of a 14-room hotel approved in 2021. At the same meeting, Council unanimously approved an amended special use permit for the Shops at Watership Down, which included a roof redesign and requested variances. The Green Park Inn site was rezoned from R-6M to CZ-GB. Blowing Rock News reported that Council unanimously approved a 3.35-acre plan with a 40-room hotel, 12 condominiums and eight cottages. Our earlier post covers the staggered timeline at the Green Park Inn site.
How the Study Got Here in 2026
The change has come in small steps.
- Winter Retreat, 2026. Council asked planning staff to review the quasi-judicial special use permit process and look at possible changes to the Land Use Code.
- April. The Planning Board recommended a draft ordinance removing its own advisory review from special use permits.
- June 16, 2026. Council held a public hearing and approved that change unanimously. Rothrock said the Planning Board would stay involved in conditional zoning and other legislative decisions. At the same meeting, Council Member Wayne Miller said he believed the town should do away with special use permits altogether, and Mayor Charlie Sellers said that would be a conversation for the future. Residents who spoke at the hearing asked Council to preserve ways for citizens to learn about proposals and take part in the process.
- September 8, 2026. Council voted 3–2 to ask the Planning Board to study removing special use permits from the Land Use Code. Council Members Cat Perry, Wayne Miller and Melissa Tausche voted for the motion. Mayor Pro-Tem David Harwood and Council Member Doug Matheson voted against it.
- September 17, 2026. The Planning Board took up the question. Rothrock's cover memo set out three options: remove special use permits, change the process, or leave it alone. It also noted that the town's planning consultant, Benchmark Planning, had been asked to help. Boone Source reported that the board formed a subcommittee, appointed Bill McCarter and Brandon Walker, and planned to name two more members.
- October 15, 2026. The Planning Board agenda included an update from the special use permit subcommittee.
Apart from the June change, Council has not adopted anything from the study. The August memo says that if Council moves to remove or change special use permits, it will need to set a public hearing date that gives the Planning Board enough time to study the proposal. The Planning Board could then bring Council options in a draft ordinance.
Why Raleigh Shapes the Answer
The town can't simply redraw its rules, and the reason is state law. Session Law 2024-57, also known as S.B. 382, changed G.S. 160D-601(d). A UNC School of Government explainer says the change bars a local government from starting, adopting or enforcing a zoning amendment that down-zones property unless every affected owner consents in writing. Down-zoning includes reducing allowed density, reducing permitted uses, or creating certain nonconformities on nonresidential land. The provision took effect December 11, 2024, and the School of Government notes that its reach and interpretation were not fully clear.
The memo shows how that uncertainty affects Blowing Rock's options. Staff have been reluctant to make any change that could be read as down-zoning. Petrack wrote that no case law yet interprets the law, so he can't promise the town would avoid a legal challenge if it moved toward conditional zoning. Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach both moved to conditional zoning in 2025 and concluded the change was procedural and did not remove any property uses. Wrightsville Beach let existing special use permits remain in place and be amended the same way as before.
The memo also raises two points against a full switch, both from the town attorney's section, and they are summarized here as the memo presents them. Under G.S. 160D-108, a development permit expires one year after it is issued unless the authorized work has substantially begun. The memo notes that a conditional zoning approval, left unchecked, could let a developer leave land untouched for a long time. The memo also cites Gardner v. Richmond County (2025). Under that case, challenging a quasi-judicial decision requires pleading special damages, while a legislative decision can be challenged by asking for declaratory relief. In the memo's words, that "could make it easier for people to file lawsuits against the Town."
State law is changing other parts of the code too. In September, Council updated the parking ordinance to comply with a North Carolina law that takes effect January 1, 2027. Under the new law, parking ratios for new development become recommendations rather than required minimums, though the town keeps authority over parking design and circulation.
What This Means for the Parcel Beside a Home You're Considering
A property's existing permit still governs it. The Speckled Trout at 922 Main Street, in the Central Business district, operates under a conditional use permit that is now treated as a special use permit. In July, the owners asked to add a pop-up market for local vendors on Wednesdays, when the restaurant is closed. Rothrock explained that the request had to come back to Council because the existing permit did not authorize an open-air market. He also said it did not require a public hearing. On the October 13 Council agenda, the town itself asked for a minor amendment to Special Use Permit 2023-02. The amendment would raise capacity at the day care center at 108 Lakeside Drive from 20 to 30 children, to match its state license.
If you're looking at a home near a commercial or redevelopment property, it helps to know which process governs that land today and which one would apply if it changed. Under a special use permit, a neighbor's role depends on whether Council finds that they have standing. Under conditional zoning, anyone can speak, and Council has room to send a plan back, as it did with Shoppes on the Parkway. Planning staff and the Town's posted agendas are the place to confirm how a specific parcel is handled. This post is general information, not legal advice, and a real estate attorney is the right person to explain what a particular parcel's zoning means for your purchase.
Questions about the hidden costs of owning in town carry through to the tax side of a closing as well.
Questions Buyers Ask About the Special Use Permit Study
Has Blowing Rock eliminated special use permits? No. As of mid-October 2026, the Planning Board's subcommittee was still studying the question. Any change would need a public hearing and Council approval of an ordinance.
What has already changed? Since the June 16, 2026 vote, the Planning Board no longer holds an advisory review of special use permits. Council now hears them in a single step.
Would existing permits disappear? Neither the Council vote nor the memo has addressed what would happen to existing permits. Wrightsville Beach, one of the towns the memo examined, kept its existing special use permits and let them be amended the same way as before.
If you're weighing a Blowing Rock home that sits near a parcel likely to change, Jay Coble can help you trace that parcel's approval history and recent Council actions before you commit. Let's Connect.
