• Inside Hemby Bridge or not in a municipality? The Union County development ordinance is used to determine what land uses and processes are allow.
• Inside a municipality (other than Hemby Bridge)? Contact their planning department to submit through their development process.

Visit GoMAPS, select “Map Layers” at the top of the page, select “Districts,” and then select the “Union County Zoning” layer to check the location of your property. The zoning for your property is then used to determine whether the proposed use is allowed in the current zoning, requires a special use permit, is a home occupation, an accessory use, or would require a rezoning. Review the table of uses and home occupation documents to determine how your proposed use falls within this document.

They are listed in order of complexity. A by-right use means you can submit your plans for approval. At the end of the list is a rezoning, meaning a three to six month process to evaluate the proposal, with the Board of Commissioners deciding whether to approve or deny the request.

• By right uses – you can submit a subdivision, site plan or building permit here.
• Rural or suburban home occupation – You can apply for a permit by either going online and completing a Suburban Home Occupation or Rural Home Occupation permit, by submitting to the Planning Department.
• Special use permits are administered by the Board of Adjustment. You submit an application, which is then reviewed and presented to the Board for consideration. The process assumes the use is allowed unless there is an obvious conflict or impact on the surrounding area. Special uses are generally those that have widely varying operating characteristics or potential land use impacts that require additional review to ensure that they will comply with all applicable ordinance regulations and approval criteria.
• Rezonings are the most complicated and lengthy process to allow you to get approval for your intended use. A rezoning request can be for conditional or a straight rezoning. Contact the long range planner at 704-283-3690 to learn more about rezoning your property.