(A) If a petition opposing a change in the zoning classification of any property is filed in accordance with the provisions of this section, then the proposed amendment may be adopted only by a favorable vote of three-fourths of the Town Commissioners. For the purposes of this division, vacant positions on the Town Board of Commissioners and members who are excused from voting shall not be considered “members of the council” for calculation of the requisite supermajority.
(B) To trigger the three-fourths vote requirement, the petition must:
(1) (a) Be signed by the owners of either:
1. Twenty percent or more of the area included in the proposed change; or
2. Five percent of a 100-foot-wide buffer strip extending along the entire boundary of each discrete or separate area proposed to be rezoned.
2024 S-10
(b) A street right-of-way shall not be considered in computing the 100-foot buffer strip area as long as that street right-of-way is 100 feet wide or less. When less than the entire parcel of land is subject to the proposed zoning map amendment, the 100-foot buffer strip shall be measured from the property line of that parcel. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the town may rely on the county tax listing to determine the “owners” of potentially qualifying areas.
(2) Be in the form of a written petition actually bearing the signatures of the requisite number of property owners and stating that the signers do protest the proposed change or amendment;
(3) Be received by the Town Clerk in sufficient time to allow the governing body at least two normal working days before the date established for a public hearing on the proposed amendment to determine the sufficiency and accuracy of the petition; and
(4) Be on a form provided by the Town Clerk and contain all the information requested on this form.
(C) A person who has signed a protest petition may withdraw his or her name from the petition at any time prior to the vote on the proposed zoning amendment. Only those protest petitions that meet the qualifying standards set forth in G.S. §§ 160D-102, 160D-18(d) and 160D-603 at the time of the vote on the zoning amendment shall trigger the supermajority voting requirement.
(D) The foregoing provisions concerning protests shall not be applicable to any amendment which initially zones property added to the territorial coverage of the ordinance as a result of annexation or otherwise, or to an amendment to an adopted:
(1) Conditional zoning;
(2) Conditional zoning and special use permits; or
(3) If the amendment does not change the types of uses that are permitted within the district or increase the total approved density for residential development, or increase the total approved size of any buffers or screening approved for the special use or conditional zoning.
(Ord. passed 2-10-2009, § 13.7; Ord. passed - -2021)
2024 S-10