Sec. 3.19. Text Amendment

3.19.1. General

A. The governing bodies are the approving authority for amendments to the text of this Ordinance.

B. Amendments to the text of this Ordinance shall be made in accordance with the provisions of this section.

C. A request to amend the text of this Ordinance may be initiated by the governing body, the Board of Adjustment, the Planning Commission, the City Manager, the County Manager, the Planning Director, or designee, or a citizen.

D. Pre-Application Conference

Pursuant to paragraph 3.2.2, Pre-Application Conference, a pre-application conference is required prior to the submittal of a text amendment application.

3.19.2. Action by the Planning Director

A. The Planning Director, or designee, shall be responsible for review and recommendation regarding amendments to the text of this Ordinance that affect only City or County jurisdictions.

B. When a text amendment is initiated, the Planning Director, or designee, shall draft an appropriate ordinance and present that ordinance to the Planning Commission for review and recommendation at a public hearing.

C. A request to amend the text of this Ordinance may be initiated by the governing body, the Board of Adjustment, the Planning Commission, the City Manager, the County Manager, the Planning Director, or designee, or a citizen.

D. Voiding of an Application

The Planning Director or designee may consider applications withdrawn and voided due to the failure of the applicant to submit required information within 90 days of a request for such information.

3.19.3. JCCPC Review

The JCCPC shall be responsible for review and direction regarding amendments to the text of this Ordinance that affect both the City and County jurisdictions prior to review by the Planning Commission. This responsibility does not create a legal obligation for review of text amendments. Among other instances, review may not occur in the event that the City and County Managers, after consultation with the chair and vice-chair of the JCCPC, determine that delay is not in the public interest.

3.19.4. Action by the Planning Commission

A. General Procedures

1. Before making any recommendation on a text amendment, the Planning Commission shall consider any recommendations from the Planning Director, or designee, and shall conduct a public hearing where interested parties may be heard.

2. Notice and public hearing requirements shall be in accordance with paragraph 3.2.5, Notice and Public Hearings.

3. The Commission shall make its recommendation within 90 days of its initial public hearing unless the text amendment is granted expedited status.

4. When a recommendation is not made within the time periods established in this section, the governing body may process the request without a Commission recommendation.

B. Changed Application

If the applicant makes significant changes to the application for a text amendment after the Commission has made its recommendation, the Planning Director, or designee, may refer the modified request back to the Commission for an additional public hearing.

C. Expedited Hearing

1. If the governing body has set an expedited hearing concerning a request, in accordance with paragraph 3.19.5B, Expedited Hearing, a public hearing before the Commission shall be held at the first available hearing date or prior to the hearing before the governing body.

2. The Planning Commission may not continue, nor may a deferral be granted for, a request that is subject to an expedited public hearing.

3.19.5. Action by Governing Body

A. General Procedures

1. Before taking action on a text amendment, the governing body shall consider the recommendations of the Planning Commission and Planning Director, or designee, and shall conduct a public hearing.

2. Except for an emergency moratorium or a short term moratorium of 60 or fewer days (which shall comply with the provisions of paragraph 3.19.6, Development Moratoria), notice and public hearing requirements shall be in accordance with paragraph 3.2.5, Notice and Public Hearings.

3. Following the public hearing, the governing body may approve the amendment, deny the amendment, or send the amendment back to the Planning Commission or a committee of the governing body for additional consideration.

4. Text amendments, if approved, shall only have applicability within the jurisdiction of the governing body that approved the change.

B. Expedited Hearing

1. The governing body, in situations in which it determines certain standards have been met, may expedite the hearing process on a proposed or prospective amendment.

2. The governing body may consider a written request requesting an expedited hearing process. The request shall identify and support the reasons for such expedited consideration.

3. In order to grant the request, the governing body shall find that at least one of the criteria below has been met:

a. Deadlines set by the local, State or Federal government for receipt of application for needed funding, designation or other regulations concerning the property make expedited consideration necessary;

b. The prospective text amendment results from an emergency beyond the control of the applicant, such as response to a disaster;

c. The prospective text amendment addresses an urgent matter of public health or safety; or

d. The prospective text amendment addresses issues raised in threatened, actual, or potential litigation against the jurisdiction that made expedited consideration necessary.

4. A hearing before the governing body may occur upon the receipt of a Planning Commission recommendation, or the expiration of a 30-day period, whichever comes earlier.

3.19.6. Development Moratoria

A. Statutory Procedures

Development Pursuant to NCGS 160D-102, any of the following: a. The construction, erection, alteration, enlargement, renovation, substantial repair, movement to another site, or demolition of any structure. b. The excavation, grading, filling, clearing, or alteration of land. c. The subdivision of land as defined in G.S. 160D-802. d. The initiation or substantial change in the use of land or the intensity of use of land. moratoria, if necessary, shall be considered and processed in accordance with the special notice provisions, required statements, and other requirements of NCGS §160D-107.

B. Resolution

A public hearing to impose either a moratorium of 60 or fewer days (hereafter a “short-term moratorium”) or a lengthier moratorium of 61 days to a year may be initiated by a governing body for that body’s jurisdiction upon passage of a resolution, including appropriate supportive findings, that calls for a public hearing. Passage of such a resolution shall be considered a “call for public hearing” under the above-cited statutes and shall allow the jurisdiction to stop acceptance, review, and approval of applications for development Pursuant to NCGS 160D-102, any of the following: a. The construction, erection, alteration, enlargement, renovation, substantial repair, movement to another site, or demolition of any structure. b. The excavation, grading, filling, clearing, or alteration of land. c. The subdivision of land as defined in G.S. 160D-802. d. The initiation or substantial change in the use of land or the intensity of use of land. approvals described in the above-cited statutes or such other similar development Pursuant to NCGS 160D-102, any of the following: a. The construction, erection, alteration, enlargement, renovation, substantial repair, movement to another site, or demolition of any structure. b. The excavation, grading, filling, clearing, or alteration of land. c. The subdivision of land as defined in G.S. 160D-802. d. The initiation or substantial change in the use of land or the intensity of use of land. approvals created under this Ordinance or other development Pursuant to NCGS 160D-102, any of the following: a. The construction, erection, alteration, enlargement, renovation, substantial repair, movement to another site, or demolition of any structure. b. The excavation, grading, filling, clearing, or alteration of land. c. The subdivision of land as defined in G.S. 160D-802. d. The initiation or substantial change in the use of land or the intensity of use of land. ordinances.

C. Notice and Hearing

If the call is for a short-term moratorium, Planning Commission review shall not be required, and one published notice not less than seven days prior to the hearing shall be given, as allowed under the above-cited statutes, in lieu of other notices required by statute or this Ordinance. If the call is for a lengthier moratorium, the procedure followed shall be as set forth in the provisions for expedited hearings for text amendments above. The need for a moratorium shall be considered “an urgent matter of public health or safety” as required for approval of an expedited hearing. Emergency moratoria shall not require compliance with any procedures set forth in this Ordinance, other than an unadvertised public hearing, and an ordinance making the findings required below.

D. Duration

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. Any ordinance establishing a lengthier moratorium shall include a provision that allows for termination of the moratorium by resolution of the governing body prior to the express expiration date if the conditions requiring the moratorium have been adequately addressed so that the moratorium is no longer necessary.

E. Required Statements

An ordinance establishing a moratorium shall contain all the required findings set forth in NCGS §160D-107, including but not limited to the conditions that necessitate the moratorium, alternatives, development Pursuant to NCGS 160D-102, any of the following: a. The construction, erection, alteration, enlargement, renovation, substantial repair, movement to another site, or demolition of any structure. b. The excavation, grading, filling, clearing, or alteration of land. c. The subdivision of land as defined in G.S. 160D-802. d. The initiation or substantial change in the use of land or the intensity of use of land. approvals subject to the moratorium, termination date, and reasonableness of the moratorium period.

F. Extensions

A moratorium shall only be extended upon compliance with NCGS §160D-107 and the existence of new facts and conditions warranting an extension.

G. Emergency Moratorium

In the event that there is an imminent and substantial threat to public health or safety, an ordinance imposing an emergency moratorium can be considered by a governing body without prior resolution or public notice of the hearing on such moratorium.