Swansboro City Zoning Code
HEARING PROCEDURES
§ 152.065 QUASI-JUDICIAL DECISIONS.
(A) Boards shall follow quasi-judicial procedures in determining appeals of
s, special use permits, certificates of appropriateness, variances, or any other .
(B) The hearing shall be open to the public and all persons interested in the outcome of the application shall be given an opportunity to present evidence and arguments and ask questions of persons who testify.
(C) Boards may place reasonable and equitable limitations on the presentation of evidence and arguments and the cross- examination of witnesses so that the matter at issue may be heard and decided without undue delay.
(D) The Board may continue an
that has been convened without further advertisement. If an evidentiary hearing is set for a given date and a quorum of the Board is not then present, the hearing shall be continued until the next regular Board meeting without further advertisement.
(Ord. 2005-O3, passed 3-15-2005; Am. Ord. 2021-O3, passed 5-24-2021)
§ 152.066 NOTICE OF HEARING.
The Administrator shall give notice of any hearing required by § 152.065 as follows:
(A) Notice shall be mailed to the person or entity whose appeal, application, or request is the subject of the hearing; to the owner of the property that is the subject of the hearing if the owner did not initiate the hearing; to the owners of all parcels of land abutting the parcel of land that is the subject of the hearing; and to any other persons entitled to receive notice as provided by the local
. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the town may rely on the county tax listing to determine owners of property entitled to mailed notice;
(B) The notice must be deposited in the mail at least ten days, but not more than 25 days, prior to the date of the hearing;
(C) Within that same time period, the town shall also prominently post a notice of the hearing on the site that is the subject of the hearing or on an adjacent street or highway right-of-way; and
(D) The notice required by this section shall state the date, time, and place of the hearing, reasonably identify the property that is the subject of the application, and indicate the action requested or proposed.
(Ord. 2005-O3, passed 3-15-2005; Am. Ord. passed 6-16-2009; Am. Ord. passed 1-21-2014; Am. Ord. 2021-O3, passed 5-24-2021)
§ 152.067 EVIDENCE.
(A) The provisions of this section apply to all hearings for which a notice is required by § 152.065.
(B) The applicant, the local government, and any person who would have standing to appeal the decision shall have the right to participate as a party at the
. Other witnesses may present competent, material, and substantial evidence that is not repetitive as allowed by the Board.
(C) The Chair of the Board or any member acting as Chair and the Clerk to the Board are authorized to administer oaths to witnesses in any matter coming before the Board. Any person who, while under oath during a proceeding before the Board determining a quasi-judicial matter, willfully swears falsely is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
(D) The Board making a under this chapter through the Chair or, in the Chair’s absence, anyone acting as Chair may subpoena witnesses and compel the production of evidence.
(Ord. 2005-O3, passed 3-15-2005; Am. Ord. 2021-O3, passed 5-24-2021)
§ 152.068 MODIFICATION OF APPLICATION AT HEARING.
(A) In response to questions or comments by persons appearing at the hearing or to suggestions or recommendations by the board, the applicant may agree to modify his application, including the plans and specifications submitted.
(B) Unless such modifications are so substantial or extensive that the board cannot reasonably be expected to perceive the nature and impact of the proposed changes without revised plans before it, the board may approve the application with the stipulation that the permit will not be issued until plans reflecting the agreed upon changes are submitted to the planning staff.
(Ord. 2005-O3, passed 3-15-2005; Am. Ord. 2021-O3, passed 5-24-2021)
§ 152.069 VOTING.
(A) The concurring vote of four-fifths of the board shall be necessary to grant a variance.
(B) A majority of the members shall be required to decide any other quasi-judicial matter or to determine an appeal made in the nature of certiorari.
(C) For the purposes of this section, vacant positions on the board and members who are disqualified from voting on a quasi-judicial matter under G.S. § 160D-109(d) shall not be considered members of the board for calculation of the requisite majority if there are no qualified alternates available to take the place of such members.
(Ord. 2021-O3, passed 5-24-2021)
§ 152.070 WRITTEN DECISION.
(A) The board shall determine contested facts and make its decision within a reasonable time. Every shall be based upon competent, material, and substantial evidence in the record.
(B) Each shall be reduced to writing, reflect the board's of contested facts and their application to the applicable standards, and be approved by the board and signed by the chair or other duly authorized member of the board.
(C) A is effective upon filing, the written decision with the clerk to the board or such other office or official as the
specifies. The decision shall be delivered within a reasonable time by personal delivery, electronic mail, or first-class mail to the applicant, landowner, and any person who has submitted a written request for a copy prior to the date the decision becomes effective. Ss will be recorded in the office of the Onslow County Register of Deeds.
(D) The Administrator shall certify that proper notice has been made, and the certificate shall be deemed conclusive in the absence of fraud.
(Ord. 2005-O3, passed 3-15-2005; Am. Ord. 2014-O9, passed 4-15-2014; Am. Ord. 2021-O3, passed 5-24-2021)
§ 152.071 JUDICIAL REVIEW.
Every shall be subject to review by the Superior Court by proceedings in the nature of certiorari pursuant to G.S. § 160D-1402. Appeals shall be filed within the time specified in G.S. § 160D-1405(d).
(Ord. 2021-O3, passed 5-24-2021)
§ 152.072 LEGISLATIVE HEARINGS.
Before adopting, amending, or repealing any ordinance or
, the Board of Commissioners shall hold a legislative hearing.
Notice of the hearing shall be provided as follows:
(A) Published notice. A notice of the hearing shall be given once a week for two successive calendar weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the area. The notice shall be published the first time not less than ten days nor more than 25 days before the date scheduled for the hearing. In computing such period, the day of publication is not to be included but the day of the hearing shall be included.
(B) Mailed notice.
(1) When the boundaries of zoning districts are determined, established, and enforced, and from time to time amended, supplemented or changed, the owner of affected parcels of land and the owners of all parcels of land abutting that parcel of land shall be mailed a notice of the hearing on a proposed zoning map amendment by first-class mail at the last addresses listed for such owners on the county tax abstracts.
(2) For the purpose of this section, properties are “abutting” even if separated by a street, railroad, or other transportation corridor.
(3) This notice must be deposited in the mail at least ten but not more than 25 days prior to the date of the hearing.
(C) Posted notice. When a zoning map amendment is proposed, the town shall prominently post a notice of the hearing on the site proposed for the amendment or on an adjacent public street or highway right-of-way. The notice shall be posted within the same time period specified for mailed notices of the hearing. When multiple parcels are included within a proposed zoning map amendment, a posting on each individual parcel is not required but sufficient notices shall be posted to provide reasonable notice to interested persons.
(D) Notice to military bases. If the adoption or modification would result in changes to the zoning map or would change or affect the permitted uses of land located five miles or less from the perimeter boundary of a military base, the town shall provide written notice of the proposed changes by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the commander of the military base not less than ten days nor more than 25 days before the date fixed for the hearing. If the military provides comments or analysis regarding the compatibility of the proposed
or amendment with military operations at the base, the
shall take the comments and analysis into consideration before making a final on the ordinance.
(E) ETJ expansion. If the zoning map amendment is being proposed in conjunction with an expansion of the extraterritorial
under G.S. § 160D-202, a single hearing on the zoning map amendment and the boundary amendment may be held. In this instance, the initial notice of the zoning map amendment hearing may be combined with the boundary hearing notice and the combined hearing notice mailed at least 30 days prior to the hearing.
(F) Optional notice for large-scale zoning map amendments.
(1) The first-class mail notice required by this section shall not be required if the zoning map amendment proposes to change the zoning designation of more than 50 properties owned by at least 50 different property owners.
(2) In this instance, the town can elect to make the mailed notice or, as an alternative, elect to publish notice of the hearing 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 that 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 via first-class mail.
(G) Actual notice. Except for a town-initiated zoning map amendment, when an application is filed to request a zoning map amendment and that application is not made by the landowner or authorized agent, the applicant shall certify that the owner of the parcel of land as shown on the county tax listing has received actual notice of the proposed amendment and a copy of the notice of the hearing. Actual notice shall be provided in any manner permitted under G.S. § 1A-1, Rule 4(j). If notice cannot with due diligence be achieved by personal delivery, certified mail, or by a designated delivery service authorized pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 7502(f)(2), notice may be given by publication consistent with GS § 1A-1, Rule 4(j1). The person or persons required to provide notice shall certify to the town that actual notice has been provided, and such certificate shall be deemed conclusive in the absence of fraud.
(H) A
adopted pursuant to this section shall be adopted by ordinance.
(Ord. 2021-O3, passed 5-24-2021)
§ 152.073 MORATORIA.
(A) Authority. As provided by G.S. § 160D-107, the Board of Commissioners may adopt temporary moratoria on any required by law, except for the purpose of developing and adopting new or amended plans or governing residential uses. The duration of any moratorium shall be reasonable in light of the specific conditions that warrant imposition of the moratorium and may not exceed the period of time necessary to correct, modify, or resolve such conditions.
(B) Hearing required. Except in cases of imminent and substantial threat to the public health or safety, before adopting a
imposing a development moratorium with a duration of 60 days or any shorter period, the
shall hold a legislative hearing and shall publish a notice of the hearing in a newspaper having general circulation in the area not less than seven days before the date set for the hearing. A development moratorium with a duration of 61 days or longer, and any extension of a moratorium so that the total duration is 61 days or longer, is subject to the notice and hearing requirements of G.S. § 160D-601.
(C) Exempt projects. Absent an imminent threat to public health or safety, a development moratorium adopted shall not apply to any project for which a valid building permit issued is outstanding, to any project for which a application has been accepted as complete, to development set forth in a site-specific or phased vesting plan approved pursuant to G.S. § 160D-108, to development for which substantial expenditures have already been made in good-faith reliance on a prior valid
, or to preliminary or final subdivision plats that have been accepted for review by the town prior to the call for a hearing to adopt the moratorium. Any preliminary subdivision plat accepted for review by the town prior to the call for a hearing, if subsequently approved, shall be allowed to proceed to final plat approval without being subject to the moratorium. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a complete application for a
has been submitted prior to the effective date of a moratorium, G.S. § 160D-108(b) shall be applicable when permit processing resumes.
(D) Required statements. Any
establishing a development moratorium must include, at the time of adoption, each of the following:
(1) A statement of the problems or conditions necessitating the moratorium and what courses of action, alternative to a moratorium, were considered by the town and why those alternative courses of action were not deemed adequate;
(2) A statement of the
s subject to the moratorium and how a moratorium on those approvals will address the problems or conditions leading to imposition of the moratorium;
(3) A date for termination of the moratorium and a statement setting forth why that duration is reasonably necessary to address the problems or conditions leading to imposition of the moratorium; and
(4) A statement of the actions, and the schedule for those actions, proposed to be taken by the town during the duration of the moratorium to address the problems or conditions leading to imposition of the moratorium.
(E) Limit on renewal or extension. No moratorium may be subsequently renewed or extended for any additional period unless the town has taken all reasonable and feasible steps proposed to be taken in its ordinance establishing the moratorium to address the problems or conditions leading to imposition of the moratorium and unless new facts and conditions warrant an extension. Any ordinance renewing or extending a development moratorium must include, at the time of adoption, the findings set forth in divisions (D)(1) through (4), including what new facts or conditions warrant the extension.
(F) Expedited judicial review. Any person aggrieved by the imposition of a moratorium on
s required by law may apply to the General Court of Justice for an order enjoining the enforcement of the moratorium. Actions brought pursuant to this section shall be scheduled for expedited hearing, and subsequent proceedings in those actions shall be accorded priority by the trial and appellate courts. In such actions, the town shall have the burden of showing compliance with the procedural requirements of this section.
(Ord. 2021-O3, passed 5-24-2021; Am. Ord. 2024-O11, passed 8-13-2024)
§ 152.074 NOTICE OF AN ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION.
(A) The Administrator shall give written notice to the owner of the property that is the subject of an administrative or interpretation and to the party who requested it, if different from the owner.
(B) The written notice shall be delivered by personal delivery, electronic mail, or by first-class mail. The notice shall be delivered to the last address listed for the owner of the affected property on the county tax abstract and to the address provided in the application or request for a or interpretation if different from the owner's.
(C) It shall be conclusively presumed that all persons with standing to appeal have constructive notice from the date a sign providing notice that a has been made is prominently posted on the property that is the subject of the determination or interpretation, provided the sign remains on the property for at least ten days. The sign shall contain the words "Zoning Decision" or "Subdivision Decision", or similar language, and shall identify the means to contact the town for more information.
(Ord. 2021-O3, passed 5-24-2021)
§ 152.075 CITIZEN COMMENTS.
(A) If any resident or property owner submits a written statement regarding a proposed amendment, modification, or repeal to a zoning regulation, including a text or map amendment to the Town Clerk at least two business days prior to the proposed vote on such change, the Town Clerk shall deliver such written statement to the Board of Commissioners.
(B) If the proposed change is the subject of a quasi-judicial proceeding under G.S. § 160D-705 or any other statute, 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.
(Ord. 2021-O3, passed 5-24-2021)