Whenever the public necessity requires, the town board of commissioners may by ordinance amend, supplement, or change the regulations, district boundaries, rezoning of property, now or hereafter fixed by this ordinance or amendment thereto. The board of commissioners shall refer all proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance or zoning map to the planning board for review and comment. If no written report is received from the planning board within 30 days of referral of the amendment to that board, the governing board may proceed in its consideration of the amendment without the planning board report. The governing board is not bound by the recommendations, if any, of the planning board. An amendment may be initiated by motion of the board of commissioners, by motion of the planning board or by filing an application by one of the owners of property within the area proposed to be changed or affected by the proposed amendment. Planning board; zoning plan; certification to town council.

(Code 1983, § 7-2-1; Ord. of 4-11-2000, § 1; Res. of 6-12-2007(1))

All zoning amendments and district changes shall be made according to the following procedure:

(1)

Applications for any change of district boundaries or classifications of property as shown on the official zoning map and for regulation amendments, may be submitted to the planning board by the board of commissioners with such data as may assure a full presentation of facts for the permanent record. Each such application shall be signed by at least one of the owners of property to be reclassified, attesting to the truth and correctness of all facts and information presented with application. Such signature shall be notarized.

(2)

The currently required application fee shall be paid to the planning department for each application for amendment to cover the cost of public notice and other administrative expenses involved.

(3)

The zoning administrator shall within 30 days after receipt of an application for amendment, cause a review and analysis to be made of the application and based upon that analysis, prepare a recommendation for consideration by the town board of commissioners.

(4)

The zoning administrator shall submit the application and analysis to the board of commissioners at their first regular meeting following completion of analysis.

(5)

Public hearing required:

a.

A public hearing shall be held by the board of commissioners before adoption of any proposed amendment to this chapter. Notice of the public hearing shall be given by publishing the notice at least twice in a newspaper of general circulation in Brunswick County, stating the time and place of such hearing and the substance of the proposed amendment. This notice shall appear in the newspaper for two successive weeks, with the first notice appearing not less than ten days nor more than 25 days before the date set for the public hearing. In computing the notice period, the day of publication is not to be included, but the day of the hearing is to be included.

b.

The zoning administrator, in the case of zoning map amendments involving a parcel of land, shall post on the applicant's affected property a notice of the public hearing at least ten days but not more than 25 days prior to the date of the hearing.

(6)

a.

Whenever there is a zoning map amendment, the owner of that parcel of land as shown on the county tax listing and the owners of all parcels of land either directly across from and separated by only a street, or abutting that parcel of land as shown on the county tax listing shall be mailed a notice of the proposed change by first class mail to the last address listed for such owners on the county tax abstracts. For the purpose of this section, properties are abutting even if separated by a street, railroad, or other transportation corridor. This notice must be deposited in the mail at least ten but not more than 25 days prior to the date of the public hearing. The person mailing such notices shall certify to the board of commissioners that fact, and such certificate shall be deemed conclusive in the absence of fraud.

b.

The first class mail notice required under subsection (a) shall not be required if the zoning map amendment directly affects more than 50 properties, owned by a total of at least 50 different property owners, and the town elects to use the expanded published notice provided for in this subsection. In this instance, the town may elect to either make the mailed notice provided for in subsection (a) or may as an alternative elect to publish notice of the hearing as required by G.S. 160D-602, but provided that each advertisement shall not be less than one-half of a newspaper page in size. The advertisement shall only be effective for property owners who reside in the area of general circulation of the newspaper which publishes the notice. Property owners who reside outside of the newspaper circulation area, according to the address listed on the most recent property tax listing for the affected property, shall be notified according to the provisions of subsection (a).

c.

When a zoning map amendment is proposed, the town shall prominently post a notice of the public hearing on the site proposed for rezoning or on an adjacent public street or highway right-of-way. When multiple parcels are included within a proposed zoning map amendment, a posting on each individual parcel is not required, but the town shall post sufficient notices to provide reasonable notice to interested persons.

(7)

When an amendment is referred to the planning board by the board of commissioners, the planning board shall prepare and submit for the board of commissioners a recommendation concerning the disposition of the application. Failure of the planning board to submit a recommendation within 30 days shall be considered a favorable recommendation, without conditions.

(8)

The board of commissioners shall not consider enactment of the proposed amendment until 30 days after the date of the public hearing or until the planning board makes it recommendation (if such amendment was referred to the planning board by the board of commissioners) whichever comes first

(9)

A board of commissioner's member shall not vote on any zoning map or text amendment where the outcome of the matter being considered is reasonably likely to have a direct, substantial, and readily identifiable financial impact on the member. Members of the planning board or any other appointed boards providing advice to the town council shall not vote on recommendations regarding any zoning map or text amendment where the outcome of the matter being considered is reasonably likely to have a direct, substantial, and readily identifiable financial impact on the member.

(10)

When adopting or rejecting any zoning amendment, the governing board shall also approve a statement describing whether its action is consistent with an adopted comprehensive plan and any other officially adopted plan that is applicable, and briefly explaining why the board considers the action taken to be reasonable and in the public interest. That statement is not subject to judicial review. The planning board shall advise and comment on whether the proposed amendment is consistent with any comprehensive plan that has been adopted and any other officially adopted plan that is applicable. The planning board shall provide a written recommendation to the governing board that addresses plan consistency and other matters as deemed appropriate by the planning board, but a comment by the planning board that a proposed amendment is inconsistent with the comprehensive plan shall not preclude consideration or approval of the proposed amendment by the governing board.

(11)

When adopting or rejecting any petition for a zoning map amendment, a statement analyzing the reasonableness of the proposed rezoning shall be approved by the governing board. This statement of reasonableness may consider, among other factors, (i) the size, physical conditions, and other attributes of the area proposed to be rezoned, (ii) the benefits and detriments to the landowners, the neighbors, and the surrounding community, (iii) the relationship between the current actual and permissible development on the tract and adjoining areas and the development that would be permissible under the proposed amendment; (iv) why the action taken is in the public interest; and (v) any changed conditions warranting the amendment. If a zoning map amendment qualifies as a "large-scale rezoning" under G.S. 160D-602(b), the governing board statement on reasonableness may address the overall rezoning. The statement of reasonableness and the plan consistency statement required by this section may be approved as a single statement.

(12)

If a zoning map amendment qualifies as a "large-scale rezoning" under G.S. 160D-602(b), the statement describing plan consistency may address the overall rezoning and describe how the analysis and policies in the relevant adopted plans were considered in the recommendation made. If a zoning map amendment is adopted and the action was deemed inconsistent with the adopted comprehensive plan, the zoning amendment shall have the effect of also amending the future land-use map in the approved plan, and no additional request or application for a plan amendment shall be required.

(13)

Citizen comments. If any resident or property owner in the city submits a written statement regarding a proposed amendment, modification, or repeal to a zoning ordinance to the clerk to the board at least two business days prior to the proposed vote on such change, the clerk to the board shall deliver such written statement to the town council. If the proposed change is the subject of a quasi-judicial proceeding, the clerk shall provide only the names and addresses of the individuals providing written comment, and the provision of such names and addresses to all members of the board shall not disqualify any member of the board from voting.

(14)

Amendments shall not be applicable or enforceable without consent of the owner with regard to buildings and uses for which either (i) building permits have been issued pursuant to G.S. 160D-1110 prior to the enactment of the ordinance making the change or changes so long as the permits remain valid and unexpired pursuant to G.S. 160D-1111 and unrevoked pursuant to G.S. 160D-1115 or (ii) a vested right has been established pursuant to G.S. 160D-108 and 160D-108.1 and such vested right remains valid and unexpired pursuant to G.S. 160D-108 and 160D-108.1.

(15)

No amendment to zoning regulations or a zoning map that down-zones property shall be initiated nor is it enforceable without the written consent of all property owners whose property is the subject of the down-zoning amendment, unless the down-zoning amendment is initiated by the town. For purposes of this section, "down-zoning" means a zoning ordinance that affects an area of land in one of the following ways: (1) by decreasing the development density of the land to be less dense than was allowed under its previous usage or (2) by reducing the permitted uses of the land that are specified in a zoning ordinance or land development regulation to fewer uses than were allowed under its previous usage.

(16)

An applicant may withdraw the application at any time by written notice to the planning director. Any withdrawal of an application shall be regarded as a denial of the petition.

(17)

When the board of commissioners denies an application or the application has been withdrawn, the board of commissioners shall not consider another application for the same or similar amendment affecting the same property or a portion of it until the expiration of a six-month period, extending from the date of denial or withdrawal, as appropriate.

(Code 1983, § 7-2-1; Ord. of 4-11-2000, § 1; Res. of 6-12-2007(1); Res. No. 2015-23, § 1, 11-10-2015; Res. No. 2020-19, 11-10-2020)

State Law reference— Procedure for amending zoning ordinances, G.S. 160A-384.