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JACKSON – The Northampton County Board of Commissioners recently approved changes to the county’s zoning ordinance concerning penalties for violations.

Interim Code Enforcement/Zoning Director Derrick Bennett presented the proposal during the board’s Sept. 4 regular meeting, which was held for the first time in the multipurpose room of the new courthouse.

Bennett explained that the ordinance needed to be updated to remove the criminal penalties for zoning violations to align with current state statutes.

“We are no longer allowed to criminally charge citizens for zoning violations except as related to unsafe buildings,” he noted.

The county does, however, have the authority to impose civil penalties. But Bennett said the current ordinance doesn’t have those penalties clearly defined.

The proposed amendments would add zoning enforcement fees to serve as the penalty for violations. Those fees cover several categories including noncompliance ($300 initial and $50 each day thereafter), stop work order ($150 per removal), failure to vacate ($300 initial and $50 each day thereafter), administrative hearing fee ($275 per hearing), and reinspection fee ($50 per trip).

“These fees are in line with what other municipalities are charging,” Bennett reported.

He also pointed out that the changes were not meant to generate revenue for the department, but simply to encourage people to fix any violations. The ordinance requires that a warning is given first to give people time to make corrections before the fees are incurred.

The recommended changes were reviewed and approved by the county’s Planning Board last month.

The commissioners approved the amendments with a unanimous vote by those in attendance after a motion by Ed Martin and a second from Geneva Faulkner. Commissioner Kelvin Edwards was unable to attend Wednesday’s meeting.