GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2009

SESSION LAW 2009-427

SENATE BILL 475

AN ACT to amend the charter of the town of carrboro to authorize THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN TO ADOPT ORDINANCES FOR THE ORDERLY INSTALLATION OF ENERGY-SAVING AND WATER-SAVING DEVICES.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Article 10 of the Charter of the Town of Carrboro, being Chapter 476 of the 1987 Session Laws, is amended by adding a new section to read:

"Section 10-2. Providing for the Orderly Installation of Energy-Generating or Energy- or Water-Saving Devices.

(a)        The board of aldermen may by ordinance provide for the orderly installation of solar collectors, clotheslines, rain barrels, garden fences, or any further technology designed specifically to generate or conserve energy through the use of renewable resources or to capture, store, or reuse water, so long as such installation is done by or on behalf of a person who otherwise has a property right to install such device. The ordinance may provide for review and approval or denial of homeowners association legal documents, including restrictive covenants, for compliance with the ordinance as a part of granting or denying approval of a subdivision. An ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall not prohibit the adoption or enforcement of any deed restriction, covenant, equitable servitude, similar binding agreement, or any rule or regulation adopted by a property owners association that does any of the following:

(1)        Affects a common area.

(2)        That is designed to ensure that any device described in subsection (a) of this section is installed and maintained in such a manner that it does not pose a risk to the safety of any person.

(3)        Regulates the location or screening of any device described in subsection (a) of this section, provided the deed restriction, covenant, equitable servitude, or similar binding agreement or rule or regulation adopted by a homeowners association does not have the effect of preventing the reasonable use of such device.

No ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall apply to any condominium created under Chapter 47A or 47C of the General Statutes.

(b)        If any provision of this section conflicts with the provisions of G.S. 160A-201 or G.S. 22B-20, the provisions of this section shall control.

(c)        An ordinance adopted under this section may provide for enforcement using any of the means authorized by G.S. 160A-175."

SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2009, and applies to deed restrictions, covenants, or similar binding agreements that run with the land recorded on or after that date.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 5^th day of August, 2009.

                                                                    s/  Walter H. Dalton

                                                                         President of the Senate

                                                                    s/  Joe Hackney

                                                                         Speaker of the House of Representatives