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Rowan County asks state to waive written‑consent rule as Kannapolis prepares to relinquish ETJ
Summary
The board authorized a resolution asking the General Assembly to waive the NC statute that requires written consent to downzone parcels, so Rowan County can adopt zoning where the City of Kannapolis will relinquish extraterritorial jurisdiction affecting 900+ parcels; the resolution will be forwarded to Senator Ford.
Planning staff told the board Kannapolis intends to relinquish portions of its extraterritorial jurisdiction effective June 30, which would transfer zoning responsibility for more than 900 parcels to Rowan County. Staff explained that North Carolina General Statute 160D‑601(d) (often called the downzoning statute) requires written consent of each affected property owner before a zoning change that reduces permitted uses or density can take effect.
Because the number of parcels is large and collecting individual written consents would be impractical, planning staff proposed a resolution asking the General Assembly to waive that requirement for this specific relinquishment and to provide Rowan County a 90‑day window to adopt county zoning for the area. The chair moved to adopt the resolution and to authorize the chair to forward it to Senator Ford; the motion was seconded and approved.
County staff said Rowan County zoning is generally less restrictive than municipal zoning, but the two systems do not match exactly, and the resolution requests legislative relief to facilitate a timely transition. The board asked staff to forward the signed resolution to Senator Ford's office and to follow up on implementation timing if the waiver is granted.
Next steps: Staff will transmit the signed resolution to Senator Ford and, should the General Assembly enact a temporary waiver, the county will work to prepare zoning for the relinquished parcels within the statutory window.
Key statute referenced in the meeting: North Carolina General Statute 160D‑601(d) (downzoning/written consent) and 160D‑202(h) (relinquishment procedures).
