Brunswick County officials on Tuesday night approved the rezoning of more than 2,100 acres designated for residential use near Carolina Shores.

The rezoning measure by the Brunswick County Planning Board, changing the land's designation from rural residential (RR) to medium-density residential (R-7500), means it could hold 5.8 dwelling units per acre as opposed to 2.9.

Although no specific site plans have been presented to the board yet, the rezoning of so much property is another indicator of how quickly the county is growing. Between fiscal years 2020 and 2021, the county planning department saw a 572% increase in residential unit approvals among major subdivisions and planned developments. 

“Brunswick County is one of the true anomalies in our area in that it has large swaths of developable property with infrastructure in place or readily available,” said Cameron Moore, executive officer of the Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Association. “Developers from Brunswick County, New Hanover County are pushing farther down south and then you've got the Myrtle Beach developers pushing more north…They see the opportunity there.”

The 2,131.82 acres approved for rezoning by the Brunswick County Planning Board on Tuesday are located at Pea Landing Road, No. 5 School Road and Ash-Little River Road. They're owned by S Longwood LLC, Longwood Properties LLC and KCS Farms LLC, according to the rezoning application filed with the county.

The application, completed by Phil Norris, also states that significant portions of the site fall within a flood hazard zone. It says water is available from county utilities along Pea Landing Road and No. 5 School Road. Sewer is not directly available, according to the application, but is in the general vicinity of No. 5 School Road.

“Utility connection will require developer responsibility to connect to the water and sewer system,” the application states.