GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1995 SESSION
CHAPTER 546
AN ACT TO CLARIFY AND SIMPLIFY THE PUBLIC NOTICE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE REZONING OF PROPERTY.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. G.S. 160A-384 reads as rewritten:
"§ 160A-384. Method of procedure.
(a) The city council
shall provide for the manner in which zoning regulations and restrictions and
the boundaries of zoning districts shall be determined, established and
enforced, and from time to time amended, supplemented or changed, in accordance
with the provisions of this Article. The procedures adopted pursuant to
this section shall provide that whenever there is a zoning classification
action involving a parcel of land, map amendment, the owner of that
parcel of land as shown on the county tax listing, and the owners of all
parcels of land abutting that parcel of land as shown on the county tax
listing, shall be mailed a notice of a public hearing on the proposed classification
amendment by first class mail at the last addresses listed for such
owners on the county tax abstracts. This notice must be deposited in the
mail at least 10 but not more than 25 days prior to the date of the public
hearing. The person or persons mailing such notices shall certify to
the City Council that fact, and such certificate shall be deemed conclusive in
the absence of fraud.
(b) The first class mail
notice required under subsection (a) of this section shall not be required in
the following situations:
(1) The total
rezoning of all property within the corporate boundaries of a municipality
unless rezoning involves zoning of parcels of land to less intense or more
restrictive uses. If rezoning involves zoning of parcels of land to less
intense or more restrictive uses, notification to owners of these parcels shall
be made by mail in accordance with subsection (a) of this section;
(2) The zoning
is an initial zoning of the entire zoning jurisdiction area;
(3) The zoning
reclassification action directly affects more than 50 properties, owned by a
total of at least 50 different property owners;
(4) The
reclassification is an amendment to the zoning text; or
(5) The city is
adopting a water supply watershed protection program as required by G.S.
143-214.5.
In any case where this subsection eliminates the notice
required by subsection (a) of this section, a city shall 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 elects to use the
expanded published notice provided for in this subsection. In this
instance, a city may elect to either make the mailed notice provided for in
subsection (a) of this section or may as an alternative elect to publish
once a week for four successive calendar weeks in a newspaper having general
circulation in the area maps showing an advertisement of the public
hearing that shows the boundaries of the area affected by the proposed ordinance
or amendment. zoning map amendment and explains the nature of the
proposed change. The final two advertisements shall comply with and be
deemed to satisfy the provisions of G.S. 160A-364. The map advertisement
shall not be less than one-half of a newspaper page in size. The notice
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 city's jurisdiction
or 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 by first class mail pursuant to this
section. The person or persons mailing the notices shall certify to the
city council that fact, and the certificates shall be deemed conclusive in the
absence of fraud. In addition to the published notice, a city shall post one or
more prominent signs on or immediately adjacent to the subject area
reasonably calculated to give public notice of the proposed rezoning."
Sec. 2. G.S. 153A-343 reads as rewritten:
"§ 153A-343. Method of procedure.
(a) The board of
commissioners shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Article, provide
for the manner in which zoning regulations and restrictions and the boundaries
of zoning districts shall be determined, established, and enforced, and from
time to time amended, supplemented, or changed. The procedures adopted
pursuant to this section shall provide that whenever there is a zoning classification
action involving a parcel of land, map amendment, the owner of that
parcel of land as shown on the county tax listing, and the owners of all
parcels of land abutting that parcel of land as shown on the county tax
listing, shall be mailed a notice of a public hearing on the proposed classification
amendment by first class mail at the last addresses listed for such
owners on the county tax abstracts. This notice must be deposited in
the mail at least 10 but not more than 25 days prior to the date of the public
hearing. The person or persons mailing such notices shall certify to
the Board of Commissioners that fact, and such certificate shall be deemed
conclusive in the absence of fraud.
(b) The first class mail
notice required under subsection (a) of this section shall not be required in
the following situations:
(1) The total
rezoning of all property within the boundaries of a county or a zoning area as
defined in G.S. 153A-342 unless rezoning involves zoning of parcels of land to
less intense or more restrictive uses. If rezoning involves zoning of
parcels of land to less intense or more restrictive uses, notification to
owners of these parcels shall be made by mail in accordance with subsection (a)
of this section;
(2) The zoning
is an initial zoning of the entire zoning jurisdiction area;
(3) The zoning
reclassification action directly affects more than 50 properties, owned by a
total of at least 50 different property owners;
(4) The
reclassification is an amendment to the zoning text; or
(5) The county
is adopting a water supply watershed protection program as required by G.S.
143-214.5.
In any case where this subsection eliminates
the notice required by subsection (a) of this section, a county shall if
the zoning map amendment directly affects more than 50 properties, owned by a
total of at least 50 different property owners, and the county elects to use
the expanded published notice provided for in this subsection. In this
instance, a 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
once a week for four successive calendar weeks in a newspaper having general
circulation in the area maps showing an advertisement of the public
hearing that shows the boundaries of the area affected by the proposed ordinance
or amendment. zoning map amendment and explains the nature of the
proposed change. The final two advertisements shall comply with and be
deemed to satisfy the provisions of G.S. 153A-323. The map advertisement
shall not be less than one-half of a newspaper page in size. The notice
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 county's
jurisdiction or 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 by first class mail pursuant to this
section. The person or persons mailing the notices shall certify to the
board of commissioners that fact, and the certificates shall be deemed
conclusive in the absence of fraud. In addition to the published notice, a
county shall post one or more prominent signs on or immediately adjacent
to the subject area reasonably calculated to give public notice of the proposed
rezoning.
(c) The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to any zoning map adoption that initially zones property added to the territorial coverage of the ordinance."
Sec. 2.1. Any local act in conflict with this act is repealed to the extent of the conflict.
Sec. 3. This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 29th day of July, 1995.
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Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate
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Harold J. Brubaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives