This Ordinance shall be known as the "Unified Development Ordinance of Gastonia, North Carolina" and may be referred to herein as the "Unified Development Ordinance," the "UDO," or "this Ordinance." This Ordinance includes Chapter 17 and Chapter 18 of the City Code.

This Ordinance is adopted pursuant to the authority granted to Gastonia, North Carolina by G.S. Ch. 160D, and by any special local Acts enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly for Gastonia in order to carry out the purposes stated therein. The standards, districts, and maps identified in this Ordinance shall be in accordance with the objectives and policies of locally adopted comprehensive plans and other such plans as may have been adopted for the physical development of the City of Gastonia.

(Ord. No. 21-739, § 1, 6-15-21)

A.

The Ordinance enables the City of Gastonia to respond uniformly and consistently to development proposals and to promote the health, safety, and general welfare of its residents. The UDO seeks to provide uniformity, certainty, and predictability regarding land use and development issues to the greatest degree feasible for properties located within the jurisdiction of this Ordinance. Notwithstanding, this Ordinance also attempts to provide flexibility in dealing with situations that may fall outside typical processes and requirements. The elements that make up the Ordinance are interrelated and cannot be taken in isolation; they must be taken within the context and intent of the entire Ordinance.

B.

Other goals that this UDO is anticipated to serve include:

1.

Provide adequate light and air;

2.

Lessen congestion on streets;

3.

Secure safety from fire, panic and dangers;

4.

Avoid undue concentration of population;

5.

Facilitate the efficient and adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks and other public requirements;

6.

Provide a guide for the orderly growth and development of the City of Gastonia;

7.

Regulate the use of buildings, structures and land;

8.

Control the bulk, scale and design of buildings and structures;

9.

Ensure adequate privacy and access to property;

10.

Maintain orderly and compatible land use and development patterns;

11.

Protect the integrity of water supply watersheds;

12.

Encourage environmentally responsible development practices;

13.

Maintain and develop economically vibrant commercial and industrial areas;

14.

Retain and expand the City's employment base;

15.

Provide attractive and effective signage that is compatible with the surrounding environment;

16.

Accommodate and promote pedestrians and pedestrian use to the greatest degree feasible and practical;

17.

Allow a range of housing choices and options for the various segments of the population;

18.

Establish clear and effective development review procedures;

19.

Coordinate transportation networks and utilities within proposed subdivisions with existing or planned streets and highways and with other public facilities;

20.

Dedicate or reserve recreation areas serving residents of the immediate neighborhood within a subdivision or, alternatively, for provision of funds to be used to acquire recreation areas serving residents of a development or subdivision or nearby developments or subdivisions;

21.

Ensure that rights-of-way or easements for street and utility purposes are secured;

22.

Distribute population and traffic in a manner that will avoid congestion and overcrowding and create conditions that substantially promote the public health, welfare and safety;

23.

Implement and ensure consistency with officially adopted plans;

24.

Provide appropriate and effective enforcement mechanisms;

25.

Protect property values within the City's jurisdiction.

(Ord. No. 12-600, § 1, 2-7-12)

A.

These regulations govern the development and use of all land and structures within the corporate limits of the City of Gastonia as now fixed and as may be amended in the future. Such areas shall be property depicted on the Official Zoning Map of the City of Gastonia (hereafter referred to as "Zoning Map," "Official Zoning Map" or "Gastonia Zoning Map") as is on file at the office of the Administrator. This map and its boundaries shall be incorporated and made part of this Ordinance.

B.

No building, structure, or land shall be used or occupied, and no building, structure, or part thereof shall be erected, constructed, reconstructed, moved, enlarged, or structurally altered, unless in conformity with all the provisions of this Ordinance for the district in which it is located and other applicable regulations, except as otherwise provided by this Ordinance.

C.

Except as herein provided, the provisions of this Ordinance shall apply to all land, buildings, structures and uses thereof located within the planning jurisdiction of this Ordinance, including land owed by the State of North Carolina and its municipal units of government. To the extent allowed by law, this Ordinance shall also apply to all land, buildings, structures and uses owned by county or federal agencies located within the planning jurisdiction of the City of Gastonia. Where the provisions of this Ordinance do not apply to such structures and land, such agencies are encouraged to meet the provisions of this Ordinance. The provisions of this Ordinance shall also be applicable to the erection, construction and use of buildings owned by the State of North Carolina per G.S. 160D-913; however, no land owned by the State may be included within an overlay district or special use or conditional district without the approval of the Council of State.

(Ord. No. 12-600, § 1, 2-7-12; Ord. No. 21-739, § 1, 6-15-21)

If any section or specific provision or standard of this Ordinance or any zoning district boundary that may exist in the future is found by a court to be invalid for any reason, the decision of the court shall not affect the validity of any other section, provision, standard, or district boundary of these regulations except the provision in question. The other portions of these regulations not affected by the decision of the court shall remain in full force and effect.

This Ordinance is in part carried forward by re-enactment of some of the provisions of the City of Gastonia Zoning Ordinance adopted by the City Council on January 21, 1997, as amended and the City of Gastonia Subdivision Ordinance, adopted by the City Council on March 4, 1997, as amended and it is not the intention to repeal but rather to re-enact and continue in force such existing provisions so that all rights and liabilities that have accrued thereunder are preserved and may be enforced. All provisions of the City of Gastonia Zoning Ordinance, as amended, and the City of Gastonia Subdivision Ordinance, as amended, which are not re-enacted herein are hereby repealed. All suits at law or in equity and/or all prosecutions resulting from the violation of said Zoning Ordinance or Subdivision Ordinance heretofore in effect, which are as of the adoption date pending in any of the courts of this State or of the United States, shall not be abated or abandoned by reason of the adoption of this Ordinance but shall be prosecuted to their finality, the same as if this Ordinance had not been adopted, and any and all violations of the existing City of Gastonia Zoning Ordinance and/or Subdivision Ordinance, prosecutions or suits for which have not yet been instituted, may be hereafter filed and prosecuted. Nothing in this Ordinance shall be construed as to abandon, abate or dismiss any litigation or prosecution now pending, and/or which may heretofore have been instituted or prosecuted.

This Ordinance shall become effective on November 20, 2009.

The City of Gastonia adopted this Ordinance on the 20th day of October, 2009. This City of Gastonia herby re-adopts this ordinance in accordance with Chapter 160D on the 15th day of June, 2021.

(Ord. No. 21-739, § 1, 6-15-21)