The Appearance Commission shall study the visual problems and needs of the Town and the extraterritorial planning and zoning jurisdiction and shall make any plans and carry out any programs in accordance with the powers listed below to enhance and improve the visual quality and aesthetic characteristics of the Town and the extraterritorial jurisdiction beyond the Town limits. To this end the Commission shall have the following powers and duties:
(A) To initiate, promote, and assist in the implementation of programs of general community beautification in the Town and the extraterritorial jurisdiction area beyond the Town limits;
(B) To seek to coordinate the activities of individuals, agencies, and organizations, public and private, whose plans, activities, and programs bear upon the appearance of the Town and the extraterritorial jurisdiction beyond the Town limits;
(C) To provide leadership and guidance in matters of area or community design and appearance to individuals, and to public and private organizations and agencies;
(D) To make studies of the visual characteristics and problems of the Town and the extraterritorial jurisdiction beyond the Town limits, including surveys and inventories of an appropriate nature, and to recommend standards and policies of design for the entire area, any portion or neighborhood thereof, or any project to be undertaken;
(E) To prepare both general and specific plans for the improved appearance of the Town or the extraterritorial jurisdiction beyond the Town limits. These plans may include the entire area or any part thereof, and may include private as well as public property. The plans shall set forth desirable standards and goals for the aesthetic enhancement of the Town or the extraterritorial planning and zoning jurisdiction beyond the Town limits, including public ways and areas, open spaces, and public and private buildings and projects; and
(F) To participate in the implementation of plans in accordance with the following powers:
(1) To request from the proper officials of any public agency or body, including agencies of the state and its political subdivisions, its plans for public buildings, facilities, or projects to be located within the Town or its extraterritorial planning and zoning jurisdiction;
(2) To review these plans and to make recommendations regarding their aesthetic suitability to the Town Council, Moore County Board of Commissioners, and the Town Planning Board. All plans shall be reviewed by the Commission in a prompt and expeditious manner, and all recommendations of the Commission with regard to any public project shall be made in writing. Copies of the recommendation shall be transmitted promptly to the Town Council, Planning Board, and Moore County Board of Commissioners;
(3) To formulate and recommend to the Planning Board and the Town Council the adoption or amendment of ordinances, including the zoning ordinance, subdivision regulations, and other local ordinances regulating the use of property, that will, in the opinion of the Commission, serve to enhance the appearance of the Town and the extraterritorial jurisdiction beyond the Town limits;
(4) To enter, in the performance of its official duties and at reasonable times, upon private lands and make examinations or surveys;
(5) To promote public interest in and an understanding of its recommendations, studies, and plans, and to that end to prepare, publish, and distribute to the public the studies and reports as will, in the opinion of the Commission, advance the cause of improved Town and county appearance;
(6) To direct the attention of Town and county officials to needed enforcement of any ordinance that may in any way affect the appearance of the Town and county; and
(7) To seek voluntary adherence to the standards and policies of its plans.
(1989 Code, § 33.05) (Ord. passed 10-26-1983)