(a) No land shall be subdivided, platted, or recorded, nor shall subdivided lots or parcels be sold, offered for sale, used, or occupied unless and until a final plat of the subdivision has been approved under this article and has been recorded by the county register of deeds. The subdivision of land by use of metes and bounds descriptions in instruments of transfer is prohibited. No lot or parcel resulting from a division of land excluded from the definition of subdivision in section 14-134 shall be sold, offered for sale, used, or occupied until the planning director certifies that such division of land falls within one of the exclusions listed in the definition of subdivision. No plat of any division of land within the county's planning jurisdiction shall be filed or recorded by the county register of deeds unless it contains the planning director's certification that the division of land has been approved under, or is not subject to, this article.
(b) Permit choice. If a land development regulation is amended by the board of commissioners between the time a development permit application was submitted and a development permit decision is made, the development permit applicant may choose which adopted version of the rule or ordinance will apply to the permit and use of the building, structure, or land indicated on the permit application in the manner established in G.S. 143-755.
(1) If the development permit applicant chooses the version of the rule or ordinance applicable at the time of the permit application, the development permit applicant shall not be required to await the outcome of the amendment to the rule, map, or ordinance prior to acting on the development permit.
(2) If a permit application is placed on hold at the request of the applicant for a period of six consecutive months or more, or the applicant fails to respond to comments or provide additional information reasonably requested by the county or state government for a period of six consecutive months or more, the application review shall be discontinued and the development regulations in effect at the time permit processing is resumed shall be applied to the application.
(3) Subject to G.S. 160D-108(d), where multiple local development permits are required to complete a development project, the development permit applicant may choose the version of each of the local land development regulations applicable to the project upon submittal of the application for the initial development permit. This provision is applicable only for those subsequent development permit applications filed within 18 months of the date following the approval of an initial permit. For purposes of the vesting protections of this subsection, an erosion and sedimentation control permit or a sign permit is not an initial development permit.
(Ord. of 7-10-2000, § 5.4; Amend. of - - )