*Editor's note—Growth Management Residential Development Allocation System, the provisions of which expire on December 31, 2002.
1. PURPOSE AND INTENT
The purpose and intent of this ordinance is to:
a) Enact an ordinance that is general in nature and is applicable to all property subject to regulation by the county establishing a Growth Management Development Allocation System in Johnston County's planning jurisdiction to regulate the rate at which the county issues building permits for certain residential dwelling units.
b) Implement the policies and goals of the Johnston County Strategic Plan relating to growth management strategy, provision of school facilities, transportation, provision of public water and sewer facilities, economic development and preservation of rural character.
c) To establish a residential development management and allocation system to manage the rate of residential development to ensure that:
1) Growth is orderly and that the County can continue to provide effective public services and to prevent any deterioration in the delivery of those services as residential development increases;
2) The fiscal impact of such development does not exceed revenue available from such development and other sources to pay the cost of public services and facilities, particularly the County's financial obligation related to schools;
3) The community and visual character of the county as a desirable place to live and conduct business is maintained and that property values are protected throughout the county; and
4) The density of population in the county is managed carefully to prevent overcrowding and congestion.
2. FINDINGS
The Johnston County Board of Commissioners makes the following findings:
a) That the growth rate of the County over the past decade exceeds the growth rate of the region, the State of North Carolina and the United States as a whole;
b) The County's school enrollment is currently 20,279 pupils; since1990, the County's school enrollment has increased by 5,769 students, of that number, 4,211 students have been added since 1995; Johnston County has one of the fastest growing school enrollments in the state;
c) That the sustained high rate of residential development and associated population growth in the county has and continues to increase the County's financial burden for required public services, infrastructure and the provision of public school facilities,
d) That the cost of county services and facilities necessitated by a typical residential unit exceeds the tax revenues generated thereby;
e) That there is an imbalance between residential and nonresidential development in the county that further reduces the per capita revenues available to the county in comparison to the level of revenues that may be available when residential and nonresidential development are balanced; and
f) That the county would benefit from a moderate rate of residential development to afford it additional time to plan and provide necessary infrastructure, services and public school facilities to accommodate new residential development, to attract new nonresidential development that will provide revenues to the county to assist in the financing of such services, infrastructure and public school facilities, and to maintain reasonable property tax rates, fees, and other charges for its citizens.
3. APPLICABILITY
a) Residential Development Allotment. After the effective date of this ordinance, no application for a building permit for construction of a residential dwelling unit on a legal lot shall be granted by the county until the applicant is awarded a residential land use permit for that unit on that lot pursuant to this ordinance or such development is exempted from this ordinance as set forth below.
b) Exempt Development. The following developments are exempted from the requirement of securing a residential development allotment as a condition precedent to the issuance of a building permit:
1) All nonresidential development, including civic, commercial, industrial, and institutional development;
2) Remodeling, restoration, reconstruction, or replacement of legally established structures that does not increase the number of residential dwelling units that existed previously on the site; and
3) Housing that is restricted to occupancy by elderly people over sixty-two years of age or handicapped persons as defined in this ordinance.
4. RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT ALLOCATION
a) Allocation for 2000. The Board of County Commissioners hereby establishes an annual residential dwelling allocation of 2,057 units that shall be awarded on a prorata basis according to the procedures and formula set forth in sections 5 and 6 of this ordinance. The first allocation date following the adoption of this ordinance shall be January 1, 2000, or such time as this ordinance becomes effective pursuant to section 12 herein.
b) Annual Allocation. The annual allocation shall increase at a rate of no more than 5.6 percent of the previous years annual allocation until such time as the Board of Commissioners determine. This determination shall be based upon an annual review of the needs of the County with respect to the purposes, intent, goal and findings of the County set out herein and elsewhere regarding the impact of growth on the County, that a different rate of increase is warranted.
c) Frequency of Allotments. There shall be 12 allocation dates during each allocation year.
d) Maximum Allotment. No single applicant may apply for an allocation in excess of the number available in the allocation period.
e) Unused Allotments. If the number of monthly allotment requests are less than the monthly allotment number, then any unused allocations are "rolled-over" into the following monthly allocation period.
f) Adjustment of Annual Residential Development Allocation. If conditions warrant, the Board of County Commissioners, upon advice by the County Manager, based on the criteria set forth in this ordinance, may increase or decrease the annual allocation on or before December 31 of each allocation year. However, if the allocation is reduced, it shall not reduce or revoke any allotments made pursuant to the previously existing allocation.
5. DEVELOPMENT ALLOTMENT APPLICATION PROCEDURES
a) Application For Allotment. The application for allotments shall be completed on a form provided by the Johnston County Planning Director.
b) Review of Application. The Planning Director, in a timely manner, shall review for completeness all applications for allotments and certification of exemption or priority.
c) Residential Development Allotment Award. The Planning Director shall, utilizing the allocation formula set forth in section 6, calculate allotments for the allotment period.
d) Notification of Allotment. Upon finalization of the allotments awarded by the Planning Director, the Planning Director shall publish such allotments, and all other applications and their ranking, by posting at the County Courthouse. All applicants who received an allotment shall be notified by mail. Successful applicants may apply for issuance of a Building Permit for the applicable number of residential dwelling units subject to complying with requirements of all other applicable County ordinances and regulations.
e) Fees. Reasonable fees sufficient to cover the costs of administration, inspection, publication of notices and similar matters may be charged to applicants for a Residential Development Allotment. The amount of such fees shall be fixed by the Board of Commissioners.
6. RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT ALLOTMENT CALCULATION
a) Monthly Allocation. For each monthly allocation period, the total number of allotments available shall be calculated by dividing the annual allocation by 12.
b) Prorata Allotment Formula. For each monthly allocation period, the number of allotments to be awarded to each applicant shall be equal to the number of allotments requested by that applicant multiplied by the total number of allotments available in that allocation period divided by the total number of allotments requested in that allocation period.
c) One Time Allotment. A "one time" allotment will be awarded to an owner of a legal, buildable single family lot provided that the lot owner will occupy the structure that is to be built upon the lot granted the allocation. No one time allocation shall be awarded for a lot that is intended to be sold by a developer, a corporation, limited partnership builder, real estate agent, or other entity that does not intend to occupy the structure to be built upon the lot receiving the allocation. Use of a one time allotment makes the existing landowners and any purchasers of the property ineligible for any additional new residential permits for the following 12 months.
d) Excess Allotments. In the event that fewer allotments are requested than are available during any allotment period, the Planning Director shall grant all allotments requested within a reasonable time of application date.
e) Unused Allotments. If the number of monthly allotment requests is less than the monthly allotment number, then any unused allocations are "rolled-over" into the following monthly allocation period.
f) Expired Applications. Applications for allotments not allocated within a monthly allotment period will expire.
7. REVIEW AND MONITORING
a) Annual Allocation Review. The County shall on a quarterly basis, review the rate, amount, and location of residential development in the County's planning jurisdiction, monitor the impacts of such development and determine whether such development is in accord with the policies and goals of the Strategic Plan and other County development policies and so report to the Board of Commissioners.
b) Expiration of Allotment. Any allotment granted pursuant to this ordinance shall expire within sixty days unless a valid building permit is obtained for the property for which the permit is being issued.
8. APPEALS
a) Any person aggrieved by a final decision or order of the Planning Director pursuant to this ordinance may appeal to the Board of Adjustment. All appeals are to be filed within ten working days after such final decision or order. Upon filing of an appeal, the Planning Director shall forward to the Board of Adjustment all relevant files and records relating to the matter.
b) The filing of an appeal shall not stay the action of the County.
c) The Board of Adjustment may affirm, modify, or overrule the decision of the Planning Director based on the criteria provided in this ordinance.
d) If as a result of a successful appeal, additional allotments are made, the following monthly allotments will be reduced by the same number of allotments granted on appeal.
e) Any person aggrieved by a final decision or order of the County pursuant to this ordinance may appeal as provided by law.
9. RULES OF PROCEDURE AND ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS
The Planning Director is authorized to adopt rules of procedure, application requirements, and administrative regulations to implement the provisions of this ordinance.
10. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER ORDINANCES
a) Land Use Permits. No Land Use Permit relating to a residential development shall be issued until the applicant shall have been awarded a residential development allotment whenever such allotment is required by the terms of this ordinance.
b) Conflict. To the extent of any conflict between this ordinance and any other County ordinance or regulation, the more restrictive is deemed to be controlling. Otherwise, all provisions and procedures contained in those ordinances and regulations shall remain in full force and effect and shall regulate all changes in land use and development.
c) Compliance With Other Ordinances. In addition to the requirements of this ordinance, the applicant shall comply with all other applicable ordinances, including County land development ordinances and regulations prior to the County issuing a Land Use Permit.
11. DEFINITIONS
a) Allocation Year. The period from January 1, to December 31, of the succeeding year.
b) Annual Residential Development Allocation. The maximum number of residential units that will be available for allotment in any allocation year as established by the Johnston County Board of Commissioners.
c) County Manager. The County Manager of the county of Johnston or his designee,
d) Handicapped Person. "Handicapped" means, with respect to a person - (1) a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person's major life activities, (2) a record of having such an impairment, or (3) being regarded as having such an impairment, but such term does not include current, illegal use of or addiction to a controlled substance
e) Nonresidential Development. Any public or private development, including civic, commercial, industrial, institutional, religious, and other projects that do not provide housing or dwelling units for occupation other than on a transient basis (such as hotels). Any residential portion of a mixed-use development shall be subject to the provisions and requirements of this ordinance.
f) Planning Director. The Planning Director of the county of Johnston or his designee.
g) Residential Development Allotment. An award of a specific number of units from the annual residential development allocation by the Board of County Commissioners. An allotment is an approval required as a condition precedent to obtaining a building permit unless otherwise provided by this ordinance.
h) Residential Unit. Any building or structure, including mobile homes, manufactured and modular homes, that is wholly or partially used or intended to be used for living or sleeping by one or more human occupants.
12. EFFECTIVE DATE
The provisions of this ordinance shall become effective upon a finding that the number of residential permits that may be issued in an allotted period is likely to exceed the annual allocation set forth in section 4.a of this ordinance,
Further, the provisions of this ordinance shall expire on December 31, 2002.
State law reference—Building codes, G.S. 143-138 and 153A-351; planning and development, G.S. 153A-320 et seq.