H.B. 456
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
Mar 30, 2021
SESSION 2021 HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK
H D
HOUSE BILL DRH10112-LM-26A
Short Title: Justice for Rural Citizens. (Public)
Sponsors: Representative Pittman.
Referred to:
1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT TO REMOVE THE INJUSTICE OF EXTRATERRITORIAL PLANNING
3 JURISDICTION BY DECLARING THAT NO CITY IN THE STATE MAY HAVE OR
4 EXERCISE PLANNING JURISDICTION OUTSIDE ITS CORPORATE LIMITS.
5 Whereas, any city may exercise planning jurisdiction under Chapter 160D of the
6 General Statutes within a defined area extending not more than one mile beyond its corporate
7 limits; and
8 Whereas, with the approval of the board of county commissioners with jurisdiction
9 over the area, a city of 10,000 or more but less than 25,000 may exercise planning jurisdiction
10 over an area extending not more than two miles beyond its corporate limits, and a city of 25,000
11 or more may exercise these powers over an area extending not more than three miles beyond its
12 limits; and
13 Whereas, the citizens who live in an area over which a city exercises extraterritorial
14 planning jurisdiction are prohibited from voting in municipal elections; and
15 Whereas, without the ability to vote in municipal elections to choose the persons who
16 will make planning decisions about the areas in which they live, rural citizens do not have a say
17 in some of the important matters that affect their lives and livelihoods; Now, therefore,
18 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
19
20 PART I. EXTRATERRITORIAL PLANNING JURISDICTION PROHIBITED
21 SECTION 1. G.S. 160D-201 reads as rewritten:
22 "§ 160D-201. Planning and development regulation jurisdiction.
23 (a) Cities. – All of the powers granted by this Chapter may be exercised by any city within
24 its corporate limits and within any extraterritorial area established pursuant to
25 G.S. 160D-202.limits.
26 …."
27 SECTION 2. G.S. 160D-202 reads as rewritten:
28 "§ 160D-202. Municipal extraterritorial Transfer or relinquishment of jurisdiction.
29 (a) Geographic Scope. – Any city may exercise the powers granted to cities under this
30 Chapter within a defined area extending not more than one mile beyond its contiguous corporate
31 limits. In addition, a city of 10,000 or more population but less than 25,000 may exercise these
32 powers over an area extending not more than two miles beyond its limits and a city of 25,000 or
33 more population may exercise these powers over an area extending not more than three miles
34 beyond its limits. In determining the population of a city for the purposes of this Chapter, the city
35 council and the board of county commissioners may use the most recent annual estimate of
36 population as certified by the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Administration.
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 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021
1 Pursuant to G.S. 160A-58.4, extraterritorial municipal planning and development regulation may
2 be extended only from the primary corporate boundary of a city and not from the boundary of
3 satellite areas of the city.
4 (b) Authority in the Extraterritorial Area. – A city may not exercise any power conferred
5 by this Chapter in its extraterritorial jurisdiction that it is not exercising within its corporate limits.
6 A city may exercise in its extraterritorial area all powers conferred by this Chapter that it is
7 exercising within its corporate limits. If a city fails to extend a particular type of development
8 regulation to the extraterritorial area, the county may elect to exercise that particular type of
9 regulation in the extraterritorial area.
10 (c) County Approval of City Jurisdiction. – Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this
11 section, no city may extend its extraterritorial powers into any area for which the county has
12 adopted and is enforcing county zoning and subdivision regulations. However, the city may do
13 so where the county is not exercising both of these powers, or when the city and the county have
14 agreed upon the area within which each will exercise the powers conferred by this Chapter. No
15 city may extend its extraterritorial powers beyond one mile from its corporate limits without the
16 approval of the board or boards of county commissioners with jurisdiction over the area.
17 (d) Notice of Proposed Jurisdiction Change. – Any municipality proposing to exercise
18 extraterritorial jurisdiction under this Chapter shall notify the owners of all parcels of land
19 proposed for addition to the area of extraterritorial jurisdiction, as shown on the county tax
20 records. The notice shall be sent by first-class mail to the last addresses listed for affected
21 property owners in the county tax records. The notice shall inform the landowner of the effect of
22 the extension of extraterritorial jurisdiction, of the landowner's right to participate in a legislative
23 hearing prior to adoption of any ordinance extending the area of extraterritorial jurisdiction, as
24 provided in G.S. 160D-601, and of the right of all residents of the area to apply to the board of
25 county commissioners to serve as a representative on the planning board and the board of
26 adjustment, as provided in G.S. 160D-303. The notice shall be mailed at least 30 days prior to
27 the date of the hearing. The person or persons mailing the notices shall certify to the city council
28 that the notices were sent by first-class mail, and the certificate shall be deemed conclusive in the
29 absence of fraud.
30 (e) Boundaries. – Any council exercising extraterritorial jurisdiction under this Chapter
31 shall adopt an ordinance specifying the areas to be included based upon existing or projected
32 urban development and areas of critical concern to the city, as evidenced by officially adopted
33 plans for its development. A single jurisdictional boundary shall be applicable for all powers
34 conferred in this Chapter. Boundaries shall be defined, to the extent feasible, in terms of
35 geographical features identifiable on the ground. Boundaries may follow parcel ownership
36 boundaries. A council may, in its discretion, exclude from its extraterritorial jurisdiction areas
37 lying in another county, areas separated from the city by barriers to urban growth, or areas whose
38 projected development will have minimal impact on the city. The boundaries specified in the
39 ordinance shall at all times be drawn on a map, set forth in a written description, or shown by a
40 combination of these techniques. This delineation shall be maintained in the manner provided in
41 G.S. 160A-22 for the delineation of the corporate limits and shall be recorded in the office of the
42 register of deeds of each county in which any portion of the area lies.
43 Where the extraterritorial jurisdiction of two or more cities overlaps, the jurisdictional
44 boundary between them shall be a line connecting the midway points of the overlapping area
45 unless the city councils agree to another boundary line within the overlapping area based upon
46 existing or projected patterns of development.
47 (f)(a) County Authority Within City Jurisdiction. – The county may, on request of the city
48 council, exercise any or all of these the powers granted in this Chapter in any or all areas lying
49 within the city's corporate limits or within the city's specified area of extraterritorial
50 jurisdiction.limits.
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1 (g)(b) Transfer of Jurisdiction. – When a city annexes, annexes or a new city is incorporated
2 in, or a city extends its jurisdiction to include, in an area that is currently being regulated by the
3 county, the county development regulations and powers of enforcement shall remain in effect
4 until (i) the city has adopted such development regulations or (ii) a period of 60 days has elapsed
5 following the annexation, extension, annexation or incorporation, whichever is sooner. Prior to
6 the transfer of jurisdiction, the city may hold hearings and take any other measures consistent
7 with G.S. 160D-204 that may be required in order to adopt and apply its development regulations
8 for the area at the same time it assumes jurisdiction.
9 (h)(c) Relinquishment of Jurisdiction. – When a city relinquishes jurisdiction over an area
10 that it is regulating under this Chapter to a county, the city development regulations and powers
11 of enforcement shall remain in effect until (i) the county has adopted such development
12 regulation or (ii) a period of 60 days has elapsed following the action by which the city
13 relinquished jurisdiction, whichever is sooner. Prior to the transfer of jurisdiction, the county
14 may hold hearings and take other measures consistent with G.S. 160D-204 that may be required
15 in order to adopt and apply its development regulations for the area at the same time it assumes
16 jurisdiction.
17 (i)(d) Process for Local Government Approval. – When a local government is granted
18 powers by this section subject to the request, approval, or agreement of another local government,
19 the request, approval, or agreement shall be evidenced by a formally adopted resolution of the
20 governing board of the local government. Any such request, approval, or agreement can be
21 rescinded upon two years' written notice to the other governing boards concerned by repealing
22 the resolution. The resolution may be modified at any time by mutual agreement of the governing
23 boards concerned.
24 (j) Local Acts. – Nothing in this section shall repeal, modify, or amend any local act that
25 defines the boundaries of a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction by metes and bounds or courses and
26 distances.
27 (k)(e) Effect on Vested Rights. – Whenever a city or county, pursuant to this section,
28 acquires jurisdiction over a territory that theretofore has been subject to the jurisdiction of another
29 local government, any person who has acquired vested rights in the surrendering jurisdiction may
30 exercise those rights as if no change of jurisdiction had occurred. The city or county acquiring
31 jurisdiction may take any action regarding such a development approval, certificate, or other
32 evidence of compliance that could have been taken by the local government surrendering
33 jurisdiction pursuant to its development regulations. Except as provided in this subsection, any
34 building, structure, or other land use in a territory over which a city or county has acquired
35 jurisdiction is subject to the development regulations of the city or county."
36 SECTION 3. G.S. 160D-307 is repealed.
37 SECTION 4. G.S. 160D-602 reads as rewritten:
38 "§ 160D-602. Notice of hearing on proposed zoning map amendments.
39 (a) Mailed Notice. – Subject to the limitations of this Chapter, an ordinance shall provide
40 for the manner in which zoning regulations and the boundaries of zoning districts are to be
41 determined, established, and enforced, and from time to time amended, supplemented, or
42 changed, in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter. The owners of affected parcels of
43 land and the owners of all parcels of land abutting that parcel of land shall be mailed a notice of
44 the hearing on a proposed zoning map amendment by first-class mail at the last addresses listed
45 for such owners on the county tax abstracts. For the purpose of this section, properties are
46 "abutting" even if separated by a street, railroad, or other transportation corridor. This notice must
47 be deposited in the mail at least 10 but not more than 25 days prior to the date of the hearing. If
48 the zoning map amendment is being proposed in conjunction with an expansion of municipal
49 extraterritorial planning and development regulation jurisdiction under G.S. 160D-202, a single
50 hearing on the zoning map amendment and the boundary amendment may be held. In this
51 instance, the initial notice of the zoning map amendment hearing may be combined with the
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1 boundary hearing notice and the combined hearing notice mailed at least 30 days prior to the
2 hearing.
3 …."
4 SECTION 5. G.S. 160D-903 reads as rewritten:
5 "§ 160D-903. Agricultural uses.
6 …
7 (c) Agricultural Areas in Municipal Extraterritorial Jurisdiction. – Property that is located
8 in a city's extraterritorial planning and development regulation jurisdiction and that is used for
9 bona fide farm purposes is exempt from the city's zoning regulation to the same extent bona fide
10 farming activities are exempt from county zoning pursuant to this section. As used in this
11 subsection, "property" means a single tract of property or an identifiable portion of a single tract.
12 Property that ceases to be used for bona fide farm purposes becomes subject to exercise of the
13 city's extraterritorial planning and development regulation jurisdiction under this Chapter. For
14 purposes of complying with State or federal law, property that is exempt from municipal zoning
15 pursuant to this subsection is subject to the county's floodplain regulation or all floodplain
16 regulation provisions of the county's unified development ordinance.
17 …."
18 SECTION 6. G.S. 160D-912 reads as rewritten:
19 "§ 160D-912. Outdoor advertising.
20 …
21 (m) This section does not apply to any ordinance in effect on July 1, 2004. A local
22 government may amend an ordinance in effect on July 1, 2004, to extend application of the
23 ordinance to off-premises outdoor advertising located in territory acquired by annexation or
24 located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city. annexation. A local government may repeal
25 or amend an ordinance in effect on July 1, 2004, so long as the amendment to the existing
26 ordinance does not reduce the period of amortization in effect on June 19, 2020.
27 …."
28 SECTION 7. G.S. 160D-925 reads as rewritten:
29 "§ 160D-925. Stormwater control.
30 …
31 (e) Unless the local government requests the permit condition in its permit application,
32 the Environmental Management Commission may not require as a condition of an NPDES
33 stormwater permit issued pursuant to G.S. 143-214.7 that a city implement the measure required
34 by 40 Code of Federal Regulations § 122.34(b)(3)(1 July 2003 Edition) in its extraterritorial
35 jurisdiction."
36 SECTION 8. G.S. 160D-1125 reads as rewritten:
37 "§ 160D-1125. Enforcement.
38 …
39 (c) Additional Lien. – The amounts incurred by a local government in connection with
40 the removal or demolition are also a lien against any other real property owned by the owner of
41 the building or structure and located within the local government's planning and development
42 regulation jurisdiction, and for cities without extraterritorial planning and development
43 jurisdiction, within one mile of the city limits, jurisdiction, except for the owner's primary
44 residence. The provisions of subsection (b) of this section apply to this additional lien, except
45 that this additional lien is inferior to all prior liens and shall be collected as a money judgment.
46 …."
47 SECTION 9. Any provision in a local act that grants a city the power to exercise
48 extraterritorial planning jurisdiction under Article 19 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes,
49 or its successor Chapter 160D of the General Statutes, is hereby repealed.
50 SECTION 10. The relinquishment of jurisdiction over an area that a city is regulating
51 under the authority of extraterritorial planning jurisdiction under Article 19 of Chapter 160A of
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1 the General Statutes, or its successor Chapter 160D of the General Statutes, shall become
2 effective January 1, 2022. However, nothing in this act shall be construed as prohibiting a city
3 from relinquishing jurisdiction over an area prior to January 1, 2022, so long as the city complies
4 with the provisions of Article 19 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes, or its successor
5 Chapter 160D of the General Statutes.
6 SECTION 11. Upon relinquishment of jurisdiction over an area that a city is
7 regulating under the authority of extraterritorial planning jurisdiction under Article 19 of Chapter
8 160A of the General Statutes, or its successor Chapter 160D of the General Statutes:
9 (1) The city regulations and powers of enforcement shall remain in effect until (i)
10 the county has adopted the regulation or (ii) a period of 60 days has elapsed
11 following the effective date of this act, whichever is sooner. During this
12 period, the county may hold hearings and take other measures that may be
13