Before enacting any amendment to this chapter, the Board of Commissioners shall hold a public hearing. Notice of public hearings in a newspaper of general circulation in Cherokee County, by on-site posting and/or by mail shall be in accordance with G.S. §160D-601 and §160D-602 as provided below.
(A) Newspaper notice. A notice of a public hearing shall be given once a week for two successive calendar weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the Town of Murphy, the notices to be published the first time not less than ten days and not more than 25 days before the date fixed for the public hearing.
(B) Mailed notice. When an amendment to the official zoning map (zoning map amendment) is proposed, the owner of that parcel of land, as shown on the county tax listing, that is the subject of a proposed zoning amendment, and the owners of all parcels of land abutting that parcel of land as shown on the county tax listing, shall be mailed a notice of a public hearing on the proposed amendment by first class mail at the last addresses listed for the owners on the county tax abstracts. For the purpose of this section, properties are 'abutting' even if separated by a street, railroad, or other transportation corridor. The notice must be deposited in the mail at least ten but not more than 25 days prior to the date of the public hearing. The person or persons mailing the notices shall certify to the Town Council that fact, and that certificate shall be deemed conclusive in the absence of fraud.
(C) Alternative to mailed notice. The first-class mail notice required in division (B), above, shall not be required if the zoning map amendment directly affects more than 50 properties, owned by a total of at least 50 different property owners, and the town elects to use the expanded published notice provided for in this division (C). In this instance the town may elect to either make the mailed notice provided for in division (B), above, or may as an alternative elect to publish notice of the hearing as required by G.S. §160D-601 (and enumerated in division (A), above), but provided that each advertisement shall not be less than one-half 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 according to the provisions of division (B), above.
(D) Posted notice. When a zoning map amendment is proposed, the town shall prominently post a notice of the public hearing on the site proposed for rezoning or on an adjacent public street or highway right-of-way. The notice shall be posted within the same time period specified for mailed notices of the hearing. When multiple parcels are included within a proposed zoning map amendment, a posting on each individual parcel is not required, but the town shall post sufficient notices to provide reasonable notice to interested persons.
(Ord. passed 4-1993; Am. Ord. passed 9-4-2007; Am. Ord. passed 6-7-2021)