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Henderson council approves ordinance to align local land-use rules with N.C. statute 160D
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Summary
After a consultant presentation and a public hearing with no speakers in opposition, the Henderson City Council unanimously approved Ordinance 21-19 to amend Chapter 26 (Zoning and Subdivision) for compliance with North Carolina General Statute 160D; consultants urged municipalities to keep comprehensive plans ‘current’ to reduce legal risk.
Henderson City Council on July 12 approved Ordinance 21-19 amending City Code Chapter 26 to bring local zoning and subdivision rules into compliance with North Carolina General Statute 160D.
Development Services Director Corey Williams and consultants from Insight Consulting said the state law consolidates city and county land-use regulations and requires municipalities to base land-use rules on a current comprehensive plan. Consultant Dale Holland told the council that the statute "merges city and county regulations into one harmonious set of regulations" and that what counts as a "current" plan depends on the jurisdiction.
Holland said the amendment makes a series of largely technical changes across the UDO and zoning ordinance and does not alter existing zoning districts. He cautioned that while the statute does not prescribe an automatic penalty for nonadoption, municipalities that fail to adopt required changes risk losing lawsuits brought under the statute's standards.
The ordinance was adopted unanimously: Council Members Sara M. Coffey, William Burnette, D. Michael Rainey, Melissa Elliott, Garry D. Daeke, Ola Thorpe-Cooper and Jason A. Spriggs voted yes; Council Member Marion B. Williams was absent.
Why it matters: 160D standardizes many procedural requirements for notices and procedures between cities and counties and ties land-use decisionmaking to a jurisdiction's current comprehensive plan. City staff said the City is pursuing a comprehensive plan update and a unified development ordinance (UDO) to meet the statute's expectations.
Next steps: City staff said the comprehensive plan segment must be completed by July 2022 and the UDO work will follow. The council recorded the ordinance in the Ordinance Book (Ordinance 21-19).