(A) Upon receipt of a recommendation from the Planning Board, the Board of Commissioners shall set a date for a legislative hearing on the proposed amendment. The public notice required for the legislative hearing shall be in accordance with § 160.05.
(B) At the conclusion of a legislative hearing on the proposed amendment, the Board of Commissioners may proceed to vote on the proposed amendment, refer it to a committee for further study, or take any other action consistent with its usual rules of procedure.
(C) The Board of Commissioners is not bound by any recommendations of the Planning Board, Technical Review Committee or Planning Staff that are before it at the time it takes action on a proposed amendment.
(D) When adopting or rejecting any zoning amendment, the Board of Commissioners shall, in accordance with the provisions of G.S. § 160D-605, adopt a statement describing whether its action is consistent with an adopted comprehensive plan and any other officially adopted plan that is applicable and explaining why the Board considers the action taken to be reasonable and in the public interest.
(1) Per G.S. § 160D-605(a), this requirement may also be met by a clear indication in the minutes of the Board meeting that at the time of action on the amendment, the governing board was aware of and considered the Planning Board’s recommendations and any relevant portions of the Land Use Plan.
(E) When adopting or rejecting any petition for a zoning map amendment, the Board of Commissioners shall also approve a statement analyzing the reasonableness of the proposed rezoning, in accordance with the provisions of G.S. § 160D-605(b). The statement of reasonableness and the plan consistency statement may be approved as a single statement.
(F) Any comments from the Planning Board that the proposed amendment is inconsistent with the comprehensive plan shall not preclude consideration or approval of the proposed amendment by the Board of Commissioners. In addition, this consistency statement is not subject to judicial review.
(G) If the proposed map amendment is adopted and the action was deemed inconsistent with the City’s future land use plan, the amendment shall have the effect of also amending the future land use map in the plan. No additional request or application for a plan amendment shall be required. If the proposed zoning amendment is denied by the Board of Commissioners based on its inconsistency with the Land Use Plan, the applicant may request an amendment to the Land Use Plan. It should be noted that because the City’s Land Use Plan is its CAMA Land Use Plan, all proposed amendments to it must be approved by the Coastal Resources Commission (as required under the Coastal Area Management Act).
(1) If the Land Use Plan is deemed amended by virtue of adoption of a zoning amendment that is inconsistent with the Land Use Plan, the amendment shall be noted in the plan. However, since the City’s Land Use Plan is its CAMA Land Use Plan, the amendment shall not be effective until reviewed and approved by the Coastal Resources Commission (as required under the Coastal Area Management Act and G.S. § 160D-501(c)).
(H) The Board of Commissioners is not required to take final action on a proposed amendment within any specific period of time, but it should proceed as expeditiously as practical on petitions for amendments since inordinate delays can result in the petitioner incurring unnecessary costs.
(I) As required by G.S. § 160A-75, a development ordinance on which an legislative hearing must be held pursuant to G.S. § 160D-601 before adoption of the ordinance may be adopted on the day it is introduced by a simple majority.
(Ord. passed 7-25-2011; Ord. 21-O-04, passed 6-28-2021)