FILED SENATE
Apr 6, 2023
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
S.B. 675
SESSION 2023 PRINCIPAL CLERK
S D
SENATE BILL DRS15290-MQx-89
Short Title: Land Use Clarification and Changes. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Lee, Craven, and Galey (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to:
1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT TO ALLOW THE SITING OF SCHOOLS VIA SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR
3 AREAS ZONED FOR COMMERCIAL USE, TO CLARIFY THAT USE RIGHTS ON
4 PROPERTY ARE NOT EXTINGUISHED BY THE APPROVAL OF ADDITIONAL USE
5 RIGHTS, AND TO ELIMINATE MUNICIPAL EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION.
6 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
7
8 PART I. SCHOOLS A PERMITTED USE IN COMMERCIAL ZONES
9 SECTION 1.1. Part 1 of Article 9 of Chapter 160D of the General Statutes is
10 amended by adding a new section to read:
11 "§ 160D-917. School sites in commercial zones.
12 A local government zoning regulation shall permit by right or by special use the siting of a
13 school building that is primarily used for the instruction of students and is under the control of a
14 public school unit in areas zoned for commercial use."
15 SECTION 1.2. This Part is effective when it becomes law.
16
17 PART II. CLARIFY EXISTING USE RIGHTS ON PROPERTY
18 SECTION 2.1. G.S. 160D-108 reads as rewritten:
19 "§ 160D-108. Permit choice and vested rights.
20 …
21 (c) Vested Rights. – Amendments in land development regulations are not applicable or
22 enforceable without the written consent of the owner with regard to any of the following:
23 (1) Buildings or uses of buildings or land for which a development permit
24 application has been submitted and subsequently issued in accordance with
25 G.S. 143-755.
26 (2) Subdivisions of land for which a development permit application authorizing
27 the subdivision has been submitted and subsequently issued in accordance
28 with G.S. 143-755.
29 (3) A site-specific vesting plan pursuant to G.S. 160D-108.1.
30 (4) A multi-phased development pursuant to subsection (f) of this section.
31 (5) A vested right established by the terms of a development agreement
32 authorized by Article 10 of this Chapter.
33 The establishment of a vested right under any subdivision of this subsection does not preclude
34 vesting under one or more other subdivisions of this subsection or vesting by application of
35 common law principles. A vested right, once established as provided for in this section or by
36 common law, precludes any action by a local government that would change, alter, impair,
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1 prevent, diminish, or otherwise delay the development or use of the property allowed by the
2 applicable land development regulation or regulations, except where a change in State or federal
3 law mandating local government enforcement occurs after the development application is
4 submitted that has a fundamental and retroactive effect on the development or use. A vested right
5 obtained by permit or other local government approval shall not preclude the use or extinguish
6 the existence of any other vested right or use by right attached to the property.
7 …."
8 SECTION 2.2. G.S. 160D-705 reads as rewritten:
9 "§ 160D-705. Quasi-judicial zoning decisions.
10 …
11 (c) Special Use Permits. – The regulations may provide that the board of adjustment,
12 planning board, or governing board hear and decide special use permits in accordance with
13 principles, conditions, safeguards, and procedures specified in the regulations. Reasonable and
14 appropriate conditions and safeguards may be imposed upon these permits. Where appropriate,
15 such conditions may include requirements that street and utility rights-of-way be dedicated to the
16 public and that provision be made for recreational space and facilities. Conditions and safeguards
17 imposed under this subsection shall not include requirements for which the local government
18 does not have authority under statute to regulate nor requirements for which the courts have held
19 to be unenforceable if imposed directly by the local government, including, without limitation,
20 taxes, impact fees, building design elements within the scope of G.S. 160D-702(b),
21 driveway-related improvements in excess of those allowed in G.S. 136-18(29) and
22 G.S. 160A-307, or other unauthorized limitations on the development or use of land.
23 The regulations may provide that defined minor modifications to special use permits that do
24 not involve a change in uses permitted or the density of overall development permitted may be
25 reviewed and approved administratively. Any other modification or revocation of a special use
26 permit shall follow the same process for approval as is applicable to the approval of a special use
27 permit. If multiple parcels of land are subject to a special use permit, the owners of individual
28 parcels may apply for permit modification so long as the modification would not result in other
29 properties failing to meet the terms of the special use permit or regulations. Any modifications
30 approved apply only to those properties whose owners apply for the modification. The regulation
31 may require that special use permits be recorded with the register of deeds. If a special use permit
32 expires and does not vest, the current zoning classification or regulation for the property applies.
33 …."
34 SECTION 2.3. This Part is effective when it becomes law.
35
36 PART III. REMOVE EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION AUTHORITY
37 SECTION 3.1. G.S. 160D-201 reads as rewritten:
38 "§ 160D-201. Planning and development regulation jurisdiction.
39 (a) Cities. – All of the powers granted by this Chapter may be exercised by any city within
40 its corporate limits and within any extraterritorial area established pursuant to
41 G.S. 160D-202.limits.
42 …."
43 SECTION 3.2. G.S. 160D-202 reads as rewritten:
44 "§ 160D-202. Municipal extraterritorial Transfer or relinquishment of jurisdiction.
45 (a) Geographic Scope. – Any city may exercise the powers granted to cities under this
46 Chapter within a defined area extending not more than one mile beyond its contiguous corporate
47 limits. In addition, a city of 10,000 or more population but less than 25,000 may exercise these
48 powers over an area extending not more than two miles beyond its limits and a city of 25,000 or
49 more population may exercise these powers over an area extending not more than three miles
50 beyond its limits. In determining the population of a city for the purposes of this Chapter, the city
51 council and the board of county commissioners may use the most recent annual estimate of
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1 population as certified by the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Administration.
2 Pursuant to G.S. 160A-58.4, extraterritorial municipal planning and development regulation may
3 be extended only from the primary corporate boundary of a city and not from the boundary of
4 satellite areas of the city.
5 (b) Authority in the Extraterritorial Area. – A city may not exercise any power conferred
6 by this Chapter in its extraterritorial jurisdiction that it is not exercising within its corporate limits.
7 A city may exercise in its extraterritorial area all powers conferred by this Chapter that it is
8 exercising within its corporate limits. If a city fails to extend a particular type of development
9 regulation to the extraterritorial area, the county may elect to exercise that particular type of
10 regulation in the extraterritorial area.
11 (c) County Approval of City Jurisdiction. – Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this
12 section, no city may extend its extraterritorial powers into any area for which the county has
13 adopted and is enforcing county zoning and subdivision regulations. However, the city may do
14 so where the county is not exercising both of these powers, or when the city and the county have
15 agreed upon the area within which each will exercise the powers conferred by this Chapter. No
16 city may extend its extraterritorial powers beyond one mile from its corporate limits without the
17 approval of the board or boards of county commissioners with jurisdiction over the area.
18 (d) Notice of Proposed Jurisdiction Change. – Any municipality proposing to exercise
19 extraterritorial jurisdiction under this Chapter shall notify the owners of all parcels of land
20 proposed for addition to the area of extraterritorial jurisdiction, as shown on the county tax
21 records. The notice shall be sent by first-class mail to the last addresses listed for affected
22 property owners in the county tax records. The notice shall inform the landowner of the effect of
23 the extension of extraterritorial jurisdiction, of the landowner's right to participate in a legislative
24 hearing prior to adoption of any ordinance extending the area of extraterritorial jurisdiction, as
25 provided in G.S. 160D-601, and of the right of all residents of the area to apply to the board of
26 county commissioners to serve as a representative on the planning board and the board of
27 adjustment, as provided in G.S. 160D-303. The notice shall be mailed at least 30 days prior to
28 the date of the hearing. The person or persons mailing the notices shall certify to the city council
29 that the notices were sent by first-class mail, and the certificate shall be deemed conclusive in the
30 absence of fraud.
31 (e) Boundaries. – Any council exercising extraterritorial jurisdiction under this Chapter
32 shall adopt an ordinance specifying the areas to be included based upon existing or projected
33 urban development and areas of critical concern to the city, as evidenced by officially adopted
34 plans for its development. A single jurisdictional boundary shall be applicable for all powers
35 conferred in this Chapter. Boundaries shall be defined, to the extent feasible, in terms of
36 geographical features identifiable on the ground. Boundaries may follow parcel ownership
37 boundaries. A council may, in its discretion, exclude from its extraterritorial jurisdiction areas
38 lying in another county, areas separated from the city by barriers to urban growth, or areas whose
39 projected development will have minimal impact on the city. The boundaries specified in the
40 ordinance shall at all times be drawn on a map, set forth in a written description, or shown by a
41 combination of these techniques. This delineation shall be maintained in the manner provided in
42 G.S. 160A-22 for the delineation of the corporate limits and shall be recorded in the office of the
43 register of deeds of each county in which any portion of the area lies.
44 Where the extraterritorial jurisdiction of two or more cities overlaps, the jurisdictional
45 boundary between them shall be a line connecting the midway points of the overlapping area
46 unless the city councils agree to another boundary line within the overlapping area based upon
47 existing or projected patterns of development.
48 (f)(a) County Authority Within City Jurisdiction. – The county may, on request of the city
49 council, exercise any or all of these the powers granted in this Chapter in any or all areas lying
50 within the city's corporate limits or within the city's specified area of extraterritorial
51 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 3.3. G.S. 160D-307 is repealed.
37 SECTION 3.4. 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 3.5. 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 beco