Statutory Language Regarding Local Ordinance Amendments to Secure Compliance with 2005 Legislation
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Item |
Topic |
Statute |
Statutory Language
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1. |
Planning board reviews |
G.S. 160A-387 G.S. 153A-344 |
Subsequent to initial adoption of a zoning ordinance, all proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance or zoning map shall be submitted to the planning board for review and comment. If no written report is received from the planning board within 30 days of referral of the amendment to that board, the governing board may proceed in its consideration of the amendment without the planning board report. The governing board is not bound by the recommendations, if any, of the planning board. |
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2. |
Planning board conflict of interest |
G.S. 160A-381(d) G.S. 153A-340(g) |
Members of appointed boards providing advice to the city council [board of county commissioners] shall not vote on recommendations regarding any zoning map or text amendment where the outcome of the matter being considered is reasonably likely to have a direct, substantial, and readily identifiable financial impact on the member. |
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3. |
Planning board statement |
G.S. 160A-383 G.S. 153A-341 |
The planning board shall advise and comment on whether the proposed amendment is consistent with any comprehensive plan that has been adopted and any other officially adopted plan that is applicable. The planning board shall provide a written recommendation to the governing board that addresses plan consistency and other matters as deemed appropriate by the planning board, but a comment by the planning board that a proposed amendment is inconsistent with the comprehensive plan shall not preclude consideration or approval of the proposed amendment by the governing board. |
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4. |
Published hearing notices |
G.S. 160A- 384(b) G.S. 153A-343(b) |
The first class mail notice required under subsection (a) of this section shall not be required if the zoning map amendment directly affects more than 50 properties, owned by a total of at least 50 different property owners, and the city [county] elects to use the expanded published notice provided for in this subsection. In this instance, a city [county] may elect to either make the mailed notice provided for in subsection (a) of this section or may as an alternative elect to publish notice of the hearing as required by G.S. 160A-364 [153A-323], but provided that each advertisement shall not be less than one-half of a newspaper page in size. The advertisement shall only be effective for property owners who reside in the area of general circulation of the newspaper which publishes the notice. Property owners who reside outside of the newspaper circulation area, according to the address listed on the most recent property tax listing for the affected property, shall be notified according to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section. |
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5. |
Posted hearing notices |
G.S. 160A- 384(c) G.S. 153A-343(d) |
When a zoning map amendment is proposed, the city [county] shall prominently post a notice of the public hearing on the site proposed for rezoning or on an adjacent public street or highway right-of-way. When multiple parcels are included within a proposed zoning map amendment, a posting on each individual parcel is not required, but the city [county] shall post sufficient notices to provide reasonable notice to interested persons. |
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6. |
Mailed hearing notices |
G.S. 153A-343(c) |
[County exemption from mailing for initial zoning of land repealed.] |
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7. |
Protest petition applicability |
G.S. 160A-385(a) |
Zoning ordinances may from time to time be amended, supplemented, changed, modified or repealed. In case, however, of a qualified protest against a zoning map amendment, that amendment shall not become effective except by favorable vote of three-fourths of all the members of the city council. {Note: No county counterpart.} |
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8. |
Protest petition voting |
G.S. 160A-385(a) |
For the purposes of this subsection, vacant positions on the council and members who are excused from voting shall not be considered 'members of the council' for calculation of the requisite supermajority. |
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9. |
Protest petition qualifying area |
G.S. 160A-385(a) |
To qualify as a protest
under this section, the petition must be signed by the owners of either (i)
twenty percent (20%) or more of the area included in the proposed change or
(ii) five percent (5%) of a 100-foot-wide buffer extending along the entire
boundary of each discrete or separate area proposed to be rezoned. |
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10. |
Protest petition applicability |
G.S. 160A-385(a) |
The foregoing provisions concerning protests shall not be applicable to any amendment which initially zones property added to the territorial coverage of the ordinance as a result of annexation or otherwise, or to an amendment to an adopted (i) special use district, (ii) conditional use district, or (iii) conditional district if the amendment does not change the types of uses that are permitted within the district or increase the approved density for residential development, or increase the total approved size of nonresidential development, or reduce the size of any buffers or screening approved for the special use district, conditional use district, or conditional district. |
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11. |
Protest petition verification |
G.S. 160A-386 |
No protest against any change in or amendment to a zoning ordinance or zoning map shall be valid or effective for the purposes of G.S. 160A-385 unless it be in the form of a written petition actually bearing the signatures of the requisite number of property owners and stating that the signers do protest the proposed change or amendment, and unless it shall have been received by the city clerk in sufficient time to allow the city at least two normal work days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, before the date established for a public hearing on the proposed change or amendment to determine the sufficiency and accuracy of the petition. The city council may by ordinance require that all protest petitions be on a form prescribed and furnished by the city, and such form may prescribe any reasonable information deemed necessary to permit the city to determine the sufficiency and accuracy of the petition. A person who has signed a protest petition may withdraw his or her name from the petition at any time prior to the vote on the proposed zoning amendment. Only those protest petitions that meet the qualifying standards set forth in G.S. 160A-385 at the time of the vote on the zoning amendment shall trigger the supermajority voting requirement. |
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12. |
Governing board conflict of interest |
G.S. 160A-381(d) G.S. 153A-340(g) G.S. 160A-75; G.S. 153A-44 |
A city council [board of county commissioners] member shall not vote on any zoning map or text amendment where the outcome of the matter being considered is reasonably likely to have a direct, substantial, and readily identifiable financial impact on the member. |
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13. |
Conditional zoning |
G.S. 160A-382(a) G.S. 153A-342(a) |
Such districts may include, but shall not be limited to, general use districts, in which a variety of uses are permissible in accordance with general standards; overlay districts, in which additional requirements are imposed on certain properties within one or more underlying general or special use districts; and special use districts or conditional use districts, in which uses are permitted only upon the issuance of a special use permit or a conditional use permit and conditional zoning districts, in which site plans and individualized development conditions are imposed. |
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14. |
Conditions in CUD, SUD, Conditional zones |
G.S. 160A-382(b) G.S. 153A-342(b) |
Property may be placed in a special use district, conditional use district, or conditional district only in response to a petition by the owners of all the property to be included. Specific conditions applicable to these districts may be proposed by the petitioner or the city [county] or its agencies, but only those conditions mutually approved by the city [county] and the petitioner may be incorporated into the zoning regulations or permit requirements. Conditions and site-specific standards imposed in a conditional district shall be limited to those that address the conformance of the development and use of the site to city [county] ordinances and an officially adopted comprehensive or other plan and those that address the impacts reasonably expected to be generated by the development or use of the site. |
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15. |
Statement for small-scale rezonings |
G.S. 160A-382(b) G.S. 153A-342(b) |
A statement analyzing the reasonableness of the proposed rezoning shall be prepared for each petition for a rezoning to a special or conditional use district, or a conditional district, or other small-scale rezoning. |
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16. |
Governing board statement |
G.S. 160A-383 G.S. 153A-341 |
Prior to adopting or rejecting any zoning amendment, the governing board shall adopt a statement describing whether its action is consistent with an adopted comprehensive plan and explaining why the board considers the action taken to be reasonable and in the public interest. |
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17. |
Government land |
G.S. 160A-392 |
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18. |
Regulation of flags |
G.S. 144-7.1 |
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19. |
Forestry regulation |
G.S. 160A-458.5 G.S. 153A-451 |
Cities: A city shall not adopt or
enforce any ordinance, rule, regulation, or resolution that regulates either: (1) Forestry activity on forestland that is taxed
on the basis of its present‑use value as forestland under Article 12 of
Chapter 105 of the General Statutes. (2) Forestry activity that is conducted in
accordance with a forest management plan that is prepared or approved by a
forester registered in accordance with Chapter 89B of the General Statutes. This section shall not be
construed to limit, expand, or otherwise alter the authority of a city to: (1) Regulate activity associated with development. A city may deny a building permit or refuse to approve a site or subdivision plan for either a period of up to: a. Three years after the completion of a timber
harvest if the harvest results in the removal of all or substantially all of
the trees that were protected under city regulations governing development
from the tract of land for which the permit or approval is sought. b. Five years after the completion of a timber
harvest if the harvest results in the removal of all or substantially all of
the trees that were protected under city regulations governing development
from the tract of land for which the permit or approval is sought and the
harvest was a willful violation of the city regulations. (2) Regulate trees pursuant to any local act of the General Assembly. (3) Adopt ordinances that are necessary to comply
with any federal or State law, regulation, or rule. (4) Exercise its planning or zoning authority under
this Article. (5) Regulate and protect streets under Article 15
of this Chapter. Counties: A
county shall not adopt or enforce any ordinance, rule, regulation, or
resolution that regulates either: (1) Forestry activity on forestland
that is taxed on the basis of its present‑use value as forestland under
Article 12 of Chapter 105 of the General Statutes. (2) Forestry activity that is
conducted in accordance with a forest management plan. This
section shall not be construed to limit, expand, or otherwise alter the
authority of a county to: (1) Regulate activity associated with
development. A county may deny a building permit or refuse to approve a site
or subdivision plan for either a period of up to: a. Three years after the completion
of a timber harvest if the harvest results in the removal of all or
substantially all of the trees that were protected under county regulations
governing development from the tract of land for which the permit or approval
is sought. b. Five years after the completion of
a timber harvest if the harvest results in the removal of all or
substantially all of the trees that were protected under county regulations
governing development from the tract of land for which the permit or approval
is sought and the harvest was a willful violation of the county regulations. (2) Regulate trees pursuant to any
local act of the General Assembly. (3) Adopt ordinances that are
necessary to comply with any federal or State law, regulation, or rule. (4) Exercise its planning or zoning
authority under Article 18 of this Chapter. |
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20. |
BOA membership |
G.S. 160A-388(a) G.S. 153A-345(a) |
The council [board of commissioners] may, in its discretion, appoint and provide compensation for alternate members to serve on the board in the absence or temporary disqualification of any regular member or to fill a vacancy pending appointment of a member. Alternate members shall be appointed for the same term, at the same time, and in the same manner as regular members. Each alternate member, while attending any regular or special meeting of the board and serving on behalf of any regular member, shall have and may exercise all the powers and duties of a regular member. |
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21. |
Conflicts on quasi-judicial matters |
G.S. 160A-388(e1) G.S. 153A-345(e1) |
A member of the board or any other body exercising the functions of a board of adjustment shall not participate in or vote on any quasi-judicial matter in a manner that would violate affected persons' constitutional rights to an impartial decision maker. Impermissible conflicts include, but are not limited to, a member having a fixed opinion prior to hearing the matter that is not susceptible to change, undisclosed ex parte communications, a close familial, business, or other associational relationship with an affected person, or a financial interest in the outcome of the matter. If an objection is raised to a member's participation and that member does not recuse himself or herself, the remaining members shall by majority vote rule on the objection. |
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22. |
BOA voting |
G.S. 160A-388(e) G.S. 153A-345(e) |
For the purposes of this subsection, vacant positions on the board and members who are disqualified from voting on a quasi-judicial matter shall not be considered 'members of the board' for calculation of the requisite supermajority if there are no qualified alternates available to take the place of such members. |
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23. |
SUP/CUP voting |
G.S. 160A-381(c) G.S. 153A-340(c1) |
No vote greater than a majority vote shall be required for the city council [board of county commissioners] or planning board to issue such permits. For the purposes of this section, vacant positions on the board and members who are disqualified from voting on a quasi-judicial matter shall not be considered 'members of the board' for calculation of the requisite majority. |
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24. |
Special and conditional use permits |
G.S. 160A-381(c) G.S. 153A-340(c1) |
The regulations may also provide that the board of adjustment, the planning board, or the city council [board of commissioners] may issue special use permits or conditional use permits in the classes of cases or situations and in accordance with the principles, conditions, safeguards, and procedures specified therein and may impose reasonable and appropriate conditions and safeguards upon these permits. |
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25. |
SUP/CUP procedures |
G.S. 160A-381(c) G.S. 153A-340(c1) |
When deciding special use permits or conditional use permits, the city council [board of county commissioners] or planning board shall follow quasi‑judicial procedures. |
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26. |
Use variances |
G.S. 160A-388(d) G.S. 153A-345(d) G.S. 160A-381(b1) G.S. 153A-340© |
When practical
difficulties or unnecessary hardships would result from carrying out the
strict letter of a zoning ordinance, the board of adjustment shall have the
power to vary or modify any of the regulations or provisions of the ordinance
so that the spirit of the ordinance shall be observed, public safety and
welfare secured, and substantial justice done. No change in permitted uses
may be authorized by variance. Appropriate conditions, which must be
reasonably related to the condition or circumstance that gives rise to the
need for a variance, may be imposed on any approval issued by the board. These regulations may provide that a board of adjustment may determine and vary their application in harmony with their general purpose and intent and in accordance with general or specific rules therein contained, provided no change in permitted uses may be authorized by variance. |
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27. |
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G.S. 153A-345(g) |
The board of adjustment may subpoena witnesses and compel the production of evidence. If a person fails or refuses to obey a subpoena issued pursuant to this subsection, the board of adjustment may apply to the General Court of Justice for an order requiring that its order be obeyed, and the court shall have jurisdiction to issue these orders after notice to all proper parties. No testimony of any witness before the board of adjustment pursuant to a subpoena issued in exercise of the power conferred by this subsection may be used against the witness in the trial of any civil or criminal action other than a prosecution for false swearing committed on the examination. Any person who, while under oath during a proceeding before the board of adjustment, willfully swears falsely, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. |
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Item |
Topic |
Statute |
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1. |
Plat approval |
G.S. 160A- 373 G.S. 153A-332 |
The
ordinance may provide that final decisions on preliminary plats and final
plats are to be made by: (1) The city council [board of commissioners], (2) The city council [board of commissioners] on
recommendation of a designated body, or (3) A designated planning board, technical review committee, or other designated body or staff person. |
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2. |
Standards for review |
G.S. 160A- 371 G.S. 153A-330 |
Decisions on approval or denial of preliminary or final plats may be made only on the basis of standards explicitly set forth in the subdivision or unified development ordinance. Whenever the ordinance includes criteria for decision that require application of judgment, those criteria must provide adequate guiding standards for the entity charged with plat approval. |
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3. |
Review procedures |
G.S. 160A- 371 G.S. 153A-330 G.S. 160A-376 (b) G.S. 153A-335(b) |
The ordinance may provide
for different review procedures for differing classes of subdivisions. A city [county] may provide for expedited review of specified classes of subdivisions. |
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4. |
Performance guarantees |
G.S. 160A-372(c) G.S. 153A-331(c) |
To assure compliance with these and other ordinance requirements, the ordinance may provide for performance guarantees to assure successful completion of required improvements. If a performance guarantee is required, the city [county] shall provide a range of options of types of performance guarantees, including, but not limited to, surety bonds or letters of credit, from which the developer may choose. For any specific development, the type of performance guarantee from the range specified by the city [county] shall be at the election of the developer. |
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5. |
Pre-sale contracts |
G.S. 160A-375(b) G.S. 153A-334(b) |
The provisions of this section
shall not prohibit any owner or its agent from entering into contracts to
sell or lease by reference to an approved preliminary plat for which a final
plat has not yet been properly approved under the subdivision ordinance or
recorded with the register of deeds, provided the contract does all of the
following: (1)
Incorporates as an attachment a copy of the preliminary plat referenced in
the contract and obligates the owner to deliver to the buyer a copy of the
recorded plat prior to closing and conveyance. (2)
Plainly and conspicuously notifies the prospective buyer or lessee that a
final subdivision plat has not been approved or recorded at the time of the
contract, that no governmental body will incur any obligation to the
prospective buyer or lessee with respect to the approval of the final
subdivision plat, that changes between the preliminary and final plats are
possible, and that the contract or lease may be terminated without breach by
the buyer or lessee if the final recorded plat differs in any material
respect from the preliminary plat. (3)
Provides that if the approved and recorded final plat does not differ in any
material respect from the plat referred to in the contract, the buyer or
lessee may not be required by the seller or lessor to close any earlier than
five days after the delivery of a copy of the final recorded plat. (4)
Provides that if the approved and recorded final plat differs in any material
respect from the preliminary plat referred to in the contract, the buyer or
lessee may not be required by the seller or lessor to close any earlier than
15 days after the delivery of the final recorded plat, during which 15-day
period the buyer or lessee may terminate the contract without breach or any
further obligation and may receive a refund of all earnest money or prepaid
purchase price. The provisions of this section shall not prohibit any owner or its agent from entering into contracts to sell or lease land by reference to an approved preliminary plat for which a final plat has not been properly approved under the subdivision ordinance or recorded with the register of deeds where the buyer or lessee is any person who has contracted to acquire or lease the land for the purpose of engaging in the business of construction of residential, commercial, or industrial buildings on the land, or for the purpose of resale or lease of the land to persons engaged in that kind of business, provided that no conveyance of that land may occur and no contract to lease it may become effective until after the final plat has been properly approved under the subdivision ordinance and recorded with the register of deeds. |
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6. |
Enforcement |
G.S. 160A-375(a) G.S. 153A-334(a) |
If a city [county] adopts an ordinance regulating the subdivision of land as authorized herein, any person who, being the owner or agent of the owner of any land located within the jurisdiction of that city, thereafter subdivides his land in violation of the ordinance or transfers or sells land by reference to, exhibition of, or any other use of a plat showing a subdivision of the land before the plat has been properly approved under such ordinance and recorded in the office of the appropriate register of deeds, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The description by metes and bounds in the instrument of transfer or other document used in the process of selling or transferring land shall not exempt the transaction from this penalty. The city [county] may bring an action for injunction of any illegal subdivision, transfer, conveyance, or sale of land, and the court shall, upon appropriate findings, issue an injunction and order requiring the offending party to comply with the subdivision ordinance. Building permits required pursuant to G.S. 160A-417 [153A-357] may be denied for lots that have been illegally subdivided. In addition to other remedies, a city [county] may institute any appropriate action or proceedings to prevent the unlawful subdivision of land, to restrain, correct, or abate the violation, or to prevent any illegal act or conduct. |
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7. |
Definition |
G.S. 160A-376(a) G.S. 153-335(a) |
"Subdivision" means all divisions of a tract or
parcel of land into two or more lots, building sites, or other divisions when
any one or more of those divisions is created for the purpose of sale or
building development (whether immediate or future) and shall include all
divisions of land involving the dedication of a new street or a change in
existing streets; but the following shall not be included within this
definition nor be subject to the regulations authorized by this Part: (1) The combination or recombination of portions of
previously subdivided and recorded lots where the total number of lots is not
increased and the resultant lots are equal to or exceed the standards of the
municipality [county] as shown in its subdivision regulations. (2) The division of land into parcels greater than 10
acres where no street right‑of‑way dedication is involved. (3) The public acquisition by purchase of strips of land
for the widening or opening of streets or for public transportation system
corridors. (4) The division of a tract in single ownership whose
entire area is no greater than two acres into not more than three lots, where
no street right‑of‑way dedication is involved and where the
resultant lots are equal to or exceed the standards of the municipality, as
shown in its subdivision regulations. |
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1 |
Moratoria |
G.S. 160A-381(e) G.S. 153A-340(h) |
Cities [Counties] may adopt temporary
moratoria on any city [county] development approval required by law. The
duration of any moratorium shall be reasonable in light of the specific
conditions that warrant imposition of the moratorium and may not exceed the
period of time necessary to correct, modify, or resolve such conditions.
Except in cases of imminent and substantial threat to public health or
safety, before adopting an ordinance imposing a development moratorium with a
duration of 60 days or any shorter period, the governing board shall hold a
public hearing and shall publish a notice of the hearing in a newspaper
having general circulation in the area not less than seven days before the
date set for the hearing. A development moratorium with a duration of 61 days
or longer, and any extension of a moratorium so that the total duration is 61
days or longer, is subject to the notice and hearing requirements of
G.S. 160A-364 [153A-323]. Absent an imminent threat to public health or
safety, a development moratorium adopted pursuant to this section shall not
apply to any project for which a valid building permit issued pursuant to
G.S. 160A-417 [153A-357] is outstanding, to any project for which a
conditional use permit application or special use permit application has been
accepted, to development set forth in a site-specific or phased development
plan approved pursuant to G.S. 160A-385.1 [153A-344.1], to development
for which substantial expenditures have already been made in good faith
reliance on a prior valid administrative or quasi-judicial permit or
approval, or to preliminary or final subdivision plats that have been
accepted for review by the city [county] prior to the call for public hearing
to adopt the moratorium. Any preliminary subdivision plat accepted for review
by the city [county] prior to the call for public hearing, if subsequently
approved, shall be allowed to proceed to final plat approval without being
subject to the moratorium. Any ordinance establishing a development
moratorium must expressly include at the time of adoption each of the
following: (1) A clear statement of the problems or conditions
necessitating the moratorium and what courses of action, alternative to a
moratorium, were considered by the city [county] and why those alternative
courses of action were not deemed adequate. (2) A clear statement of the development approvals subject to the moratorium and how a moratorium on those approvals will address the problems or conditions leading to imposition of the moratorium. (3) An express date for termination of the
moratorium and a statement setting forth why that duration is reasonably
necessary to address the problems or conditions leading to imposition of the
moratorium. (4) A clear statement of the actions, and the
schedule for those actions, proposed to be taken by the city [county] during
the duration of the moratorium to address the problems or conditions leading
to imposition of the moratorium. No moratorium may be subsequently
renewed or extended for any additional period unless the city [county] shall
have taken all reasonable and feasible steps proposed to be taken by the city
[county] in its ordinance establishing the moratorium to address the problems
or conditions leading to imposition of the moratorium and unless new facts
and conditions warrant an extension. Any ordinance renewing or extending a
development moratorium must expressly include, at the time of adoption, the
findings set forth in subdivisions (1) through (4) of this subsection,
including what new facts or conditions warrant the extension. Any person aggrieved by the imposition of a moratorium on development approvals required by law may apply to the appropriate division of the General Court of Justice for an order enjoining the enforcement of the moratorium, and the court shall have jurisdiction to issue that order. Actions brought pursuant to this section shall be set down for immediate hearing, and subsequent proceedings in those actions shall be accorded priority by the trial and appellate courts. In any such action, the city [county] shall have the burden of showing compliance with the procedural requirements of this subsection. |
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2. |
Unified development ordinance |
G.S. 160A- 363(d); G.S. 153A-322((d) |
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3. |
Development agreements |
G.S. 160A-400.22 – 160A-400.32 G.S. 153A-379.1 to 153A-379.13 |
{Statute not reprinted due to length; link to online copy
is at: |