Planning and Development Regulation
What is Chapter 160D?
The new Chapter 160D of the North Carolina General Statutes consolidates current city- and county-enabling statutes for development regulations (now in Chapters 153A and 160A) into a single, unified chapter. Chapter 160D places these statutes into a more logical, coherent organization. While the new law does not make major policy changes or shifts in the scope of authority granted to local governments, it does provide many clarifying amendments and consensus reforms that will need to be incorporated into local development regulations.
Chapter 160D is effective now, but local governments have until July 1, 2021 for the development, consideration, and adoption of necessary amendments to conform local ordinances to this new law. All city and county zoning, subdivision, and other development regulations, including unified-development ordinances, will need to be updated by that date to conform to the new law. Cities and counties that have zoning ordinances must have an up-to-date comprehensive plan or land use plan by July 1, 2022.
City staff is working on amending the City of Locust Land Development Ordinance (LDO) to reflect Chapter 160D requirements. In addition, staff is working to recommend additional changes to overall development guidelines for Council’s approval. The Locust City Council created a subcommittee comprised of City Council members (Mayor Pro-Tem Larry Baucom, Councilman Harry Fletcher, and Councilman Roger Hypes), Planning & Zoning Board Chairman, Tim Fesperman, and City staff (Scott Efird, Planning & Zoning Director and Cesar Correa, City Administrator.) to review the existing LDO, and to recommend changes.
The subcommittee met on three (3) separate occasions to draft and discuss development changes to the Land Development Ordinance. Prior to final recommendation to Locust City Council, the subcommittee is requesting public input from the community on additional development guidelines to be included in the final document.
The Locust City Council scheduled two (2) public input sessions for the public to submit comment. The sessions are scheduled for Thursday, November 12, 2020 from 10am to 11am, and during the regular City Council meeting on November 12, 2020 starting at 7pm. At this time, City staff will provide the public with a summary of the process and status of the completion. Members of the public who are interested in providing public comment may do so in person during the public input sessions, by email at cityadmin@locustnc.com or by phone at 704-888-5260 x101.
| Chapter 160D: Changes and Implementation Timeline | |
| Task | Status |
| 1. Establish subcommittee to review and evaluate Chapter 160D & Locust LDO. | Complete |
| 2. Subcommittee meetings to review and evaluate Chapter 160D & Locust LDO. | Complete |
| 3. Schedule public input sessions for Chapter 160D & Locust LDO. * | Complete
(Scheduled for 11/12/2020 at 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM) |
| 4. Review recommendations from public input sessions. | Complete |
| 5. Compile recommendations for P&Z/City Council using public input. | Complete |
| 6. Present LDO amendments for Planning & Zoning Board recommendation. * | Complete
Scheduled for December 8, 2020 P&Z Meeting |
| 6. Introduce P&Z recommendation on LDO amendments to City Council. * | Complete
Scheduled for December 10, 2020 City Council Meeting |
| 7. Final approval of LDO amendments. * | Complete
City Council approval on January 14, 2021 |
The steps marked with an * indicate opportunity for the public to provide comment during public meetings/hearings.
The current version of the City of Locust Land Development Ordinance can be found here.
A checklist detailing the required Chapter 160D changes can be found here.
A revised version of the LDO will be available for public review here after the public input sessions are complete.
The Locust City Council is required to approve the Chapter 160D changes on or before July 1, 2021 in order to enforce zoning laws within incorporated City limits and ETJ.
If you have any questions, please contact Cesar Correa, City Administrator at cityadmin@locustnc.com or by phone at 704-888-5260 x101.