(A) (1) After the effective date of this chapter, any person who, being the owner or the agent of the owner of any land located within the village, thereafter subdivides his or her land in violation of this chapter or transfers or sells land by reference to, exhibition of, or any other use of a plat showing a subdivision of the land before the plat has been properly approved under the terms of this chapter and recorded in the office of the County Register of Deeds, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The description by metes and bounds in the instrument of transfer or other document used in the process of selling or transferring land shall not exempt the transaction from this penalty. The village may bring an action for injunction and order requiring the offending party to comply with this chapter. Building permits required pursuant to G.S. § 160D-403 and § 160D-1108 may be denied for lots that have been illegally subdivided. In addition to other remedies, the village may institute any appropriate action or proceeding to prevent the unlawful subdivision of land, to restrain, correct, or abate the violation, or to prevent any illegal act or conduct. Further, this chapter shall be subject to enforcement as provided in § 10.99. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the use of remedies available to the village. The village may seek to enforce this chapter by using any one, all, or a combination of remedies.
(2) The provisions of this section shall not prohibit any owner or its agent from entering into contracts to sell or lease land by reference to an approved preliminary plat for which a final plat has not yet been properly approved under the subdivision regulations or recorded with the Register of Deeds, provided such is done in compliance with G.S. § 160D-807, as amended.
(Prior Code, Ch. 12 Art. II § 203)
(B) Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter, or rules of orders adopted or issued pursuant of this chapter, shall be subject to any one or all of the combination of penalties authorized by this chapter or Chapter 154. If a party continues to fail to comply with a particular provision, the party shall continue to remain subject to the penalties prescribed by this section for the period of the continued violation of the particular provision. Penalties assessed under this section are in addition to, and not in lieu of, the compliance requirements of Chapter 154. The village may employ any of the remedies authorized for a municipality pursuant to G.S. § 160A-175. Civil penalties for violation of this chapter will be one or more of the following.
(1) Destruction or removal of trees greater than 12 inches DBH without approval of the village will incur a civil penalty equal to the amount of the value of trees listed in the most recent edition of The Guide for Plant Appraisal published by the Council of Trees and Landscape Appraisers. The amount of the civil penalty shall include any cost incurred by the village in appraising the value of the trees removed or destroyed in violation of this chapter.
(2) For purposes of this chapter, a separate offense shall be deemed to have occurred for each tree greater than 12 inches in DBH that has been destroyed or removed without the approval of the Village Zoning Administrator.
(3) If the Zoning Administrator or designee has determined that a violation of this chapter has occurred, no certificate of compliance shall be issued until compliance has been achieved.
(C) Upon the issuance of a notice of violation or citation, the Village Manager may suspend any other permits or approvals issued to the violator, including the issuance of a stop-work order, until such time as the violation is cured and any civil penalty paid. An active appeal of the violation to the appropriate village authority shall operate as a stay of the suspension of the permits and approvals, unless the Village Manager determines that allowing the work to continue would constitute a danger to health, life, safety, or property.
(D) In the event there is an outstanding penalty amount or unresolved violation of this chapter, the village may require the violation to be remedied as a condition for the issuance of any subsequent permit or approval.
(Prior Code, Ch. 12 Art. IV § 411) (Res. R-2021.9, passed 6-22-2021; Res. R-2023.3, passed 7-18-2023)