GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
S	2
SENATE BILL 471*
House Committee Substitute Favorable 7/3/01 

Short Title:	Minimum Housing Standards/Zoning.	()	
Sponsors:	     	
Referred to:	     	
March 15, 2001

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO APPLY A LAW CLOSING A LOOPHOLE IN THE MINIMUM HOUSING STANDARDS ACT AS IT APPLIES TO MUNICIPALITIES LOCATED IN COUNTIES WITH POPULATIONS IN EXCESS OF SEVENTY-ONE THOUSAND PEOPLE BY THE LAST CENSUS WHERE THE OWNER CAN AVOID ORDERS TO REPAIR, REMOVE, OR DEMOLISH A RENTAL UNIT BY SIMPLY CLOSING IT SO THAT IT WILL APPLY IN THE ENTIRETY OF A MUNICIPALITY LOCATED IN MORE THAN ONE COUNTY WHERE SOME OF THE MUNICIPALITY IS LOCATED IN A COUNTY THAT MEETS THE POPULATION THRESHOLD, AND TO ALLOW A CERTAIN TOWN TO EXERCISE PLANNING JURISDICTION OVER A DESCRIBED AREA SUBJECT TO A REFERENDUM. 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 160A‑443(5a) reads as rewritten:
"(5a)	If the governing body shall have adopted an ordinance, or the public officer shall have:
a.	In a municipality located in counties which have a population in excess of 71,000 by the last federal census (including the entirety of any municipality located in more than one county at least one county of which has a population in excess of 71,000), other than municipalities with a population in excess of 190,000 by the last federal census, issued an order, ordering a dwelling to be repaired or vacated and closed, as provided in subdivision (3)a, and if the owner has vacated and closed such dwelling and kept such dwelling vacated and closed for a period of one year pursuant to the ordinance or order;
b.	In a municipality with a population in excess of 190,000 by the last federal census, commenced proceedings under the substandard housing regulations regarding a dwelling to be repaired or vacated and closed, as provided in subdivision (3)a., and if the owner has vacated and closed such dwelling and kept such dwelling vacated and closed for a period of one year pursuant to the ordinance or after such proceedings have commenced,
then if the governing body shall find that the owner has abandoned the intent and purpose to repair, alter or improve the dwelling in order to render it fit for human habitation and that the continuation of the dwelling in its vacated and closed status would be inimical to the health, safety, morals and welfare of the municipality in that the dwelling would continue to deteriorate, would create a fire and safety hazard, would be a threat to children and vagrants, would attract persons intent on criminal activities, would cause or contribute to blight and the deterioration of property values in the area, and would render unavailable property and a dwelling which might otherwise have been made available to ease the persistent shortage of decent and affordable housing in this State, then in such circumstances, the governing body may, after the expiration of such one year period, enact an ordinance and serve such ordinance on the owner, setting forth the following:
a.	If it is determined that the repair of the dwelling to render it fit for human habitation can be made at a cost not exceeding fifty percent (50%) of the then current value of the dwelling, the ordinance shall require that the owner either repair or demolish and remove the dwelling within 90 days; or
b.	If it is determined that the repair of the dwelling to render it fit for human habitation cannot be made at a cost not exceeding fifty percent (50%) of the then current value of the dwelling, the ordinance shall require the owner to demolish and remove the dwelling within 90 days.
This ordinance shall be recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds in the county wherein the property or properties are located and shall be indexed in the name of the property owner in the grantor index. If the owner fails to comply with this ordinance, the public officer shall effectuate the purpose of the ordinance.
This subdivision only applies to municipalities located in counties which have a population in excess of 71,000 by the last federal  census (including the entirety of any municipality located in more than one county at least one county of which has a population in excess of 71,000)."
SECTION 2.(a)  The Town of Elon may exercise the powers granted by Article 19 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes in the following described area:
BEGINNING at a point in the line between Guilford County and Alamance County, the said point being 400 feet north of the center of South Church Street (U.S. 70) and running thence along the agreement line between the City of Burlington and the Town of Elon to a point in the northern right‑of‑way line of MacArthur Lane; thence in a northerly direction with the eastern line of Parcel 4G as shown on Alamance County Tax Map 3‑5, 915.29 feet to the said Parcel 4G's northeast corner; thence in a northerly direction along the rear lines of Parcels No. 4H and No. 4J as shown on Alamance County Tax Map No. 3‑5, 1,268.16 feet to the northwest corner of said Parcel No. 4J; thence continuing in a northerly direction 200 feet to the MacArthur Lane Sanitary Sewer Outfall; thence in a northwesterly direction, with the center of MacArthur Lane Sanitary Sewer Outfall approximately 4,145 feet to the Dry Creek Sanitary Sewer Outfall; thence in an easterly direction with the center of Dry Creek Sanitary Sewer Outfall to the rear corner between Parcel No. 66 and Parcel No. 65 as shown on Alamance County Tax Map No. 3‑2, an approximate distance of 1,150 feet; thence in a northeasterly direction along the rear lines of Parcel Numbers 65, 64, and 67 as shown on Alamance County Tax Map No. 3‑2, 420.3 feet to Parcel No. 17 as shown on Alamance County Tax Map No. 3‑1; thence in a northeasterly direction along the western property lines of Parcel Numbers 17 and 18 (crossing N.C. 1529) as shown on Alamance County Tax Map 3‑1, approximately 2,700 feet to the Haw River;  running thence along the center of Haw River in a northwesterly direction as it meanders approximately 14,300 feet to a point in the center of Haw River; thence crossing Haw River in a westerly direction approximately 145 feet to a point on the west bank of Haw River and corner between Parcel Nos. 21 and 43 of Tax Map 3‑52; running thence along the northern line of Parcel Nos. 19 and 21 of Tax Map 3‑52 point 1,375.01 feet to a point corner between Parcel Nos. 19 and 43 of Tax Map 3‑52 and in the eastern line of Parcel No. 34 of Tax Map 3‑52A; running thence along the eastern line of Parcel No. 34 of Tax Map 3‑52A in a northerly direction 194.16 feet to a point and being the northeast corner of Parcel No. 34 of Tax Map 3‑52A; running thence along the northern line of Parcel Nos. 34, 33, 30, and 72 of Tax Map 3‑52A in a westerly direction approximately 2,600 feet to a point corner with Parcel No. 18E; running thence along the eastern line of Parcel No. 18E in a northwesterly direction to a point; running thence along the northwestern line of Parcel No. 18E of Tax Map 3‑52 in a southwesterly direction to a point in the center of NC Highway No. 87; running thence along the center of NC Highway No. 87 in a northwesterly direction approximately 400 feet to a point corner with Ossipee Sanitary District; running thence along the Ossipee Sanitary District 445.25 feet to a point in the line of Parcel No. 40 of Tax Map 3‑52; thence continuing along the Ossipee Sanitary District line in a northerly direction approximately 140 feet to a point corner between Parcel Nos. 40 and 5B of Tax Map 3‑52; running thence along the southern line of Parcel No. 5B in a northwesterly direction 907.7 feet to a point in the center of Elon‑Ossipee Road; thence along the center of Elon‑Gibsonville Road approximately 100 feet to a point; thence running along the northern line of Parcel No. 4 of Tax Map 3‑52 in a westerly direction approximately 1,262 feet to a point in the Guilford County line; running thence along the Guilford County line in a southerly direction to a point in the center of Midway Church Road; running thence along the center of Midway Church Road in an easterly direction to the centerline intersection of Midway Church Road and Gibsonville‑Ossipee Road; running thence along the center of Gibsonville‑Ossipee Road in a southerly direction where it intersects the Town of Gibsonville ETJ line; running thence along the ETJ line between the Town of Gibsonville and the Town of Elon to the POINT OF BEGINNING.
SECTION 2.(b)  In exercising the powers granted by subsection (a) of this section, the Town of Elon need not follow the procedural requirements of G.S. 160A‑360(a1), 160A‑364, or 160A‑384 or any statute other than G.S. 160A‑75 in the initial adoption of a zoning ordinance, but if those requirements are not followed, any such ordinance shall expire 90 days after its adoption and any zoning ordinance to apply after the expiration of that period must be adopted in accordance with those statutes.
SECTION 2.(c)  Upon the petition of thirty‑five percent (35%) of the registered voters in the area described in subsection (a) of this section, the Alamance County Board of Elections shall call an election in the described area on the question of continued exercise of planning jurisdiction by the Town of Elon in that area. The Alamance County Board of Elections shall set the date of the election, which shall be conducted in accordance with Chapter 163 of the General Statutes. The Town of Elon shall reimburse the county for the cost of the election.  At that election, unless a majority of the votes cast are in favor of the question of continued exercise of planning jurisdiction by the Town of Elon in that area, the jurisdiction of the city is relinquished as of the date of certification of the election results, and the provisions of G.S. 160A‑360(f1) apply.
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.  Section 2(c) of this act expires July 1, 2003.