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Nags Head officials report partial wins in Raleigh; parking bill exempted for coastal counties
Summary
Town staff and a legislative liaison told the Planning Board that a state parking bill (H369) has not passed and now includes an exemption for coastal counties; a separate regulatory bill on ADUs (S445) and proposed height mandates were negotiated to exempt smaller towns, while the state budget and other bills remain in flux.
Andy, who briefed the board on legislative tracking, described a May 13 visit to Raleigh with town leaders and lobbyists to press the town’s agenda and oppose bills the town found harmful to local planning authority. The update focused on several bills that would affect local land‑use controls.
Andy said H369 — a bill affecting local parking regulation that the town monitored closely — had not crossed the finish line and had accrued additional committee stops; the Legislature added an exemption for coastal counties, which the town and Dare County municipalities had sought. "They did manage to get an exemption put into it for the coastal counties," Andy said, noting a jointly drafted letter opposing the bill helped secure that carve‑out.
He also described S445, a regulatory reform bill that at one stage would have mandated accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and limited local regulation; negotiations produced exemptions for smaller towns and counties. Proposals discussed in committee would have required allowing residential uses up to 60 feet in some districts, but committee negotiations produced exemptions for communities below certain population thresholds, a change that would leave Nags Head and other small Dare County towns outside the proposed mandate.
Andy told the board the legislature was also working on the state budget; committees were meeting in the coming weeks and a draft budget might be released soon. Board members raised concerns about other pending items, including the possible removal of North Carolina’s hardened‑structures ban (a change that could allow jetties or similar shoreline armoring), and they flagged safety and operational impacts such changes could have on nearshore recreation.
The board discussed the longer‑term implications of state mandates for local zoning authority, including how a down‑zoning bill would limit local governments’ ability to rezone property and how that could affect municipal planning choices over time. Andy and members agreed the town must keep tracking legislation and be ready to adjust local workplans depending on final state action.
