Zoning Changes — The Clyde Board of Aldermen approved changes to the town’s zoning ordinance on Aug. 13, 2026.
Zoning Changes — The Clyde Board of Aldermen approved changes to the town’s zoning ordinance on Aug. 13, 2026.
Clyde may be Haywood County’s smallest town, but the latest overhaul to its zoning rules packs a big punch: nearly 90 updated or new definitions setting the stage to govern what is and isn’t permissible if and when Clyde grows.
Those definitions include new uses on the horizon that didn’t exist before, like data centers and commercial solar facilities — as well as emerging issues like living in RVs after a disaster and special events.
“These are living documents, so you know, the world changes, and so does sometimes our zoning ordinance,” explained Clyde’s new town planner, Alexis Baker. “With any zoning ordinance, there are always things that you can do better.”
Baker, who has worked as a city planner across Western North Carolina, said she came in with a fresh set of eyes and saw some things that needed changing.
Defining data centers was chief among those. Clyde currently has a moratorium on data centers and crypto mining while developing rules to govern them. But first, what are they? There is no way to zone something that is not defined, Baker explained.
“We have been using common definitions, maybe even looking at other jurisdictions for our definitions,” Baker said.
The definition for data centers is likely to keep evolving, however, until a rulebook is created during the year-long moratorium.
“Any definition that we added for cryptocurrency or data centers is just a placeholder,” Baker said. “We gave ourselves a year to make sure that we make the best decisions possible.”
The possibility of homeowners setting up their own miniature solar farms is another new-fangled definition in the zoning ordinance. While solar panels for personal use are OK, what about a bunch of them?
“Utility-scale solar may not be appropriate to say put in a small neighborhood,” Baker said. “Any other solar that is not on your roof requires a special use permit.”
Another big change in the updated zoning ordinance was more flexibility on living in RVs and campers after a natural disaster. Flooded Clyde homeowners attempting to live in RVs on their property after Helene ran afoul of old rules — which limited living in an RV as a primary dwelling for more than 180 days.
Baker and other town officials recognized the need to amend this section.
“We don’t allow RVs as long-term residences, but we do also understand that people need to live somewhere while they’re waiting to have their primary residence repaired,” Baker said.
Now victims of natural or other disasters can live in temporary dwellings while their home is being repaired for up to 12 months, or longer if permitted. If property is within the area of a federal disaster declaration, or approved by the town administrator, residents can apply for a temporary permit free of charge.
Other conditions include being ready for travel or highway use and complying with county sewage regulations.
There’s also an entirely new section for special events.
Any outdoor special event either held on town property or that disrupts traffic must now get a special use permit approved by the town board.
“You don’t want an unknown event happening and you can’t get through a main road, for example, or there could be an emergency and, you know, fire or the police can’t get through. That’s kind of one of the things that we hope that would help with,” Baker said while explaining her thought process behind the new section.
This change reflects Baker’s philosophy that zoning ordinances are “living documents.”
“It’s just continuously keeping your regulations up to date with what happens in the world and in our local community,” she said.
The changes were presented during a public hearing before the Clyde Planning Board prior to coming to the board of aldermen. Public comment was allowed and encouraged during every step.
Baker wants to make sure the new zoning ordinance is as easy to understand as possible for Clyde residents. That includes rewriting clunky definitions or cleaning up technical language.
“I think what we’re trying to do is to bring better clarity,” she said. “I personally believe that the zoning ordinance should be more easily understood by maybe someone who doesn’t have a planning background.”
Baker may be new to Clyde, but she believes these changes are just the beginning when it comes to the town bouncing back after Helene.
“I think there’s a lot of interesting things happening in Clyde. You know, there were a lot of buyouts after Helene. I think there’s a lot of possibilities going on here, and I’ve seen kind of a pickup in development, so I think there will be a lot to do, and I would like to be involved in positive changes for the community,” she said.
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