§ 154.199 LEGISLATIVE HEARING.

   Before enacting any amendment to this chapter, to the Official Zoning Map, to the comprehensive plan, or to the future land use vision map, the Mills River Town Council  shall hold a legislative hearing . Public notification of the hearing shall comply with the provisions of G.S. 160D-601, as amended.

   (A)   Newspaper notice. In accordance with G.S. 160D-601, a notice of the legislative hearing  shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town of Mills River once a week for 2 successive calendar weeks, the first publication of which shall not appear less than 10 days nor more than 25 days prior to the date fixed for the hearing. In computing the public notice period, the day of publication is not to be included but the day of the hearing shall be included. The notice shall include the time, place and date of the hearing and include a description of the property or the nature of the change or amendment to the ordinance and/or Official Zoning Map.

   (B)   Mailed notice. In accordance with G.S. 160D-602, whenever there is a proposed amendment to the Official Zoning Map or the future land use vision map, the owner of that parcel of land as shown on the Henderson County tax listing and the owners of all parcels of land abutting that parcel of land as well as all properties separated from the subject property by street , reserved right-of-way, railroad, or other transportation corridor as shown on the Henderson County tax listing shall be mailed by first class mail a notice of a legislative hearing on the proposed amendment by first class mail at the last addresses listed for the owners on the Henderson County tax abstracts. This notice must be deposited in the mail at least 10 but not more than 25 days prior to the date of the legislative hearing . The person(s) mailing the notices shall certify to the Town Council that fact, and the certificate shall be deemed conclusive in the absence of fraud. However, with specific approval of the Mills River Town Council at the time the Town Council sets a legislative hearing on a particular application, the Town Council  may elect to use the expanded notice procedure, per G.S. 160D-602(b), which follows in lieu of or in addition to the first class mailed notice required by this division if:

      (1)   The proposed amendment would initially zone property added to the territorial coverage of the Official Zoning Map; or

   (2)   The proposed amendment directly affects more than 50 properties owned by a total of at least 50 different property  owners .

   (C)   Expanded published notice procedure. If the Town Council elects to utilize the expanded notice procedure, the town shall publish once a week for 4 successive calendar weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the area an advertisement of the legislative hearing that shows the boundaries of the area affected by the proposed Zoning Map amendment and explains the nature of the proposed change. The final 2 advertisements shall comply with and be deemed to satisfy the provisions of G.S. 160D-602. The advertisement shall not be less than ½ 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 which 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 by first class mail pursuant to this section. The person(s) mailing the notices shall certify to the Town Council that fact, and the certificates shall be deemed conclusive in the absence of fraud. In addition to the published notice, the Town of Mills River shall post 1 or more prominent signs on or immediately adjacent to the subject area reasonably calculated to give public notice of the proposed re-zoning.

   (D)   Posted notice. For any proposed amendment to the Official Zoning Map or to the future land use vision map, the Town of Mills River shall post a sign in a prominent location on or near the subject property which indicates that a zoning map change or future land use map change has been proposed for the subject property . In the event that more than 1 parcel is involved in a particular amendment, at least 1 sign  shall be posted in a central location; however, the Town of Mills River may post multiple signs . The sign (s) shall be posted during the period between 25 days prior and 10 days prior to the legislative hearing date.

(Ord. passed 3-1-2004; Am. Ord. passed 7-29-2004; Am. Ord. 10-13-2005; Am. Ord. 2021-06, passed 4-22-2021; Am. Ord. 2021-18, passed 11-18-2021; Am. Ord. 2023-04, passed 9-14-2023)

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

§ 154.201 CONFLICT OF INTEREST REQUIREMENTS.

   Elected and appointed boards and Town of Mills River staff shall maintain conflict of interest procedures pursuant to G.S. § 160D-109 in administering Title XV of the Mills River Town Code. The Mills River Town Council serves as the Governing Board for the Town. The Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment are Appointed Boards. Town of Mills River staff includes and anyone employed by the Town or acting in an official capacity on behalf of the Town. These boards and individuals shall follow conflict of interest rules as described in this section.

   (A)   Governing board. A governing board member shall not vote on any legislative decision regarding a development regulation adopted pursuant to Title XV of the Mills River Town Code where the outcome of the matter being considered is reasonably likely to have a direct, substantial, and readily identifiable financial impact on the member. A governing board member shall not vote on any zoning amendment if the landowner of the property subject to a rezoning petition or the applicant for a text amendment is a person with whom the member has a close familial, business, or other associational relationship.

   (B)   Appointed boards. Members of appointed boards shall not vote on any advisory or legislative decision regarding a development regulation adopted pursuant to Title XV of the Mills River Town Code where the outcome of the matter being considered is reasonably likely to have a direct, substantial, and readily identifiable financial impact on the member. An appointed board member shall not vote on any zoning amendment if the landowner of the property subject to a rezoning petition or the applicant for a text amendment is a person with whom the member has a close familial, business, or other associational relationship.

   (C)   Administrative staff. No staff member shall make a final decision on an administrative decision required by Title XV of the Mills River Town Code if the outcome of that decision would have a direct, substantial, and readily identifiable financial impact on the staff member or if the applicant or other person subject to that decision is a person with whom the staff member has a close familial, business, or other associational relationship. If a staff member has a conflict of interest under this section, the decision shall be assigned to the supervisor of the staff person or such other staff person as may be designated by the governing board. No staff member shall be financially interested or employed by a business that is financially interested in a development subject to regulation under Title XV of the Mills River Town Code unless the staff member is the owner of the land or building involved. No staff member or other individual or an employee of a company contracting with the Town of Mills River to provide staff support shall engage in any work that is inconsistent with his or her duties or with the interest of the Town, as determined by the governing board.

   (D)   Quasi-judicial decisions. A member of any board or Town staff member facilitating or exercising quasi-judicial functions pursuant to Title XV of the Mills River Town Code shall not participate in or vote on any quasi-judicial matter in a manner that would violate affected persons’ rights to an impartial decision maker and process. Impermissible violations of due process include, but are not limited to, a member having a fixed opinion prior to hearing the matter that is not susceptible to change, undisclosed communications with affected persons outside of defined decision making processes, a close familial, business, or other associational relationship with an affected person, or a financial interest in the outcome of the matter.

   (E)   Resolution of objection. If an objection is raised to a board member’s participation at or prior to the hearing or vote on a particular matter and that member does not recuse himself or herself, the remaining members of the board shall by majority vote rule on the objection.

   (F)   Familial relationship. For purposes of this section, a CLOSE FAMILIAL RELATIONSHIP means a spouse, parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild. The term includes the step, half, and in-law relationships.

   (G)   Additional rules and procedures. Nothing in this section precludes the Town, its boards or its staff from enacting additional rules and procedures to ensure conflict of interest issues do not adversely affect parties seeking rulings and approvals on legislative or quasi-judicial matters that come before the Town provided that additional rules and procedures are not inconsistent with G.S. § 160D-109 and any amendments thereto.

(Ord. 2021-06, passed 4-22-2021)

LEGAL STATUS

§ 154.215 CONFLICT WITH OTHER LAWS.

   Wherever the regulations of this chapter require a greater size of yards or require a greater percentage of lot to be left unoccupied or impose other more restrictive standards than are required in or under any other statutes, the requirements of this chapter shall govern. Whenever the provisions of any other statute require more restrictive standards than are required by this chapter, the provisions of the statute shall govern.

Table A. Dimensional Requirements
	Minimum Lot Area	Minimum Lot Area Per Dwelling (Family ) Unit	Maximum Building Height	Yard Setback From Center Line of Street		Minimum Setbacks
				Major 1	All Others	Side	Rear
District	(sq. ft.)	(sq. ft.)	(ft.)	(ft.)	(ft.)	(ft.)	(ft.)
MR-30	30,000	30,000	50	75	60	30	30
MR-LI 2,4	1 acre 3	-	50	75	60	15	20
MR-GB 2,3	see note 3	-	50	50	40	15	30
MR-NC Residential	30,000	30,000	50	75	60	30	30
MR-NC 5 Non- Residential	30,000	-	30	75	60	30	30
MR-MU Residential	30,000	30,000	-	-	-	-	-
MR-MU 6 Non- Residential	-	-	40	75	60	30	30
NOTES:
1 Where the major street is more than 2 lanes, including parking lanes, setback requirements shall be measured and begin at a point on the pavement 12 feet from the edge of the paved street abutting the property in subject. 2  Building foot print shall cover no more than 50% of total area. 3 Minimum mean lot width: 75 feet. 4 Minimum mean lot width: 200 feet. 5 Maximum building size: 10,000 square feet. 6 Maximum building size: 15,000 square feet.

Table B Part 1: Minimum Specific Site Standards
	Heavy Industry	Solid Waste Management Facility	Mining and Extraction Operation	Concrete Plant	Asphalt Plant
Hours of Operation	No stated minimum	7:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.	7:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.	7:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.	7:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m
Screening	No stated minimum	No stated minimum	No stated minimum	No stated minimum	No stated minimum
Fencing	Secured	Secured	Secured	Secured	Secured
Buffer (feet)	100	500	500	100	100
Setback (feet)	300	1,500 (landfill ) 500 (other)	No stated minimum	200	500
Parking	See § 154.106	See § 154.106	See § 154.106	See § 154.106	See § 154.106
Loading	See § 154.107	See § 154.107	See § 154.107	See § 154.107	See § 154.107
Access Road Corridor	Number: 1 Width: 60 feet	Number: 2 Width: 60 feet	Number: 1 Width: 60 feet	Number: 1 Width: 60 feet	Number: 1 Width: 60 feet
Width of Travel-way (feet)	30	30	30	30	30
Fire Protection	Required	Required	Required	Required	Required
Noise Mitigation	Plan required	Plan required	Plan required	Plan required	Plan required
Lighting	Required	Required	Required	Required	Required
Separation1	½ mile–schools ½ mile–health-care	½ mile–schools	½ mile–schools ½ mile–health-care	½ mile–schools	½ mile–schools ½ mile–health- care
Maximum Residential Density	1 unit per 8 acres radius: 1 mile	1 unit per 2 acres radius: 1 mile	1 unit per 2 acres radius: 1 mile	N/A	1 unit per 8 acres radius: 1 mile
Protected Mountain Ridge	Prohibited	Prohibited	Prohibited	Prohibited	Prohibited

Table B Part 2: Minimum Specific Standards
	Incinerator	Junkyard	Motor Sports Facility	Slaughter- ing Plant	Amusement Park	Chip Mill
Hours of Operation	No stated minimum	7:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m.	7:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m. no more than 3 consecutive days	7:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m. on weekdays	7:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m. on weekdays; 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. on Fri, Sat.	7:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m., a.m., Fri & Sat.
Screening	No Stated Minimum	Full	No Stated Minimum	No Stated Minimum	No Stated Minimum	No Stated Minimum
Fencing	Secured	Secured	Secured	Secured	Secured	Secured
Buffer (feet)	100	50	100	100	100	100
Setback (feet)	300	300 (from public road)	500 (minor) 1,500 (major)	1,000	500	200
Parking	see § 154.106	see § 154.106	see § 154.106	see§ 154.106	see § 154.106	see § 154.106
Loading	see § 154.107	see § 154.107	see § 154.107	see § 154.107	see § 154.107	see § 154.107
Access Road Corridor	Number :1 Width: 60 feet	Number: 1 Width: 60 feet	Number: 1 (minor); 2 (major) Width: 45 feet	Number:1 Width: 60 feet	Number:2 Width: 45 feet	Number:1 Width: 60 feet
Width of Travelways (feet)	30	20	20	30	20	30
Fire Protection	Required	Required	Required	Required	Required	Required
Noise Mitigation	Plan required	Plan required	Plan required	Plan required	Plan required	Plan required
Lighting	Required	Required	Required	Required	Required	Required
Separation1	½ mile– schools ½ mile– health- care	½ mile– schools	½ mile– schools ½ mile– health- care	½ mile– schools ½ mile– health- care	½ mile– schools ½ mile– health-care	½ mile– schools
Maximum Residential Density	1 unit per 8 acres radius: 1 mile	N/A	1 unit per 2 acres radius: 1 mile	1 unit per 2 acres radius: 1 mile	1 unit per 2 acres radius: 1 mile	1 unit per 1 acre radius: ½ mile
Protected Mountain Ridge	Prohibited	Prohibited	Prohibited	Prohibited	Prohibited	Prohibited
NOTES: 1. The term HEALTH-CARE refers to health-care facilities as that term is defined in this chapter. (See § 154.007(B))

 

(Ord. passed 3-1-2004; Am. Ord. passed 7-29-2004; Am. Ord. passed 10-13-2005; Am. Ord. 00066, passed 4-28-2011)