Board of Adjustment

The City of Morganton operates a Board of Adjustment (BOA) as one of the State of North Carolina requirements for having a zoning ordinance to regulate uses. With zoning ordinances having only limited flexibility, the BOA is in place to provide flexibility to the ordinance while maintaining the intent of the requirements. The BOA acts in a quasi-judicial role, much like a judge in a court, to evaluate and interpret questions which come about concerning the zoning ordinance.

The zoning board of adjustment provides  several roles in the overall zoning process including: appeals of any administrative officer;  providing decisions concerning the zoning ordinance or map  when a disagreement  over  an interpretation occurs between an administrative officer and a member of the public, granting special use permits;  requiring that certain land uses meet  conditions beyond general zoning requirements on a given parcel, and granting variances; to grant relief when hardship results from the strict application of the ordinance’s terms to a particular piece of property.

For more details on the role of the board, read
Board of Adjustment - Sec. 9-4014 of the Morganton City Code.