At the beginning of the pandemic, a new statute regarding remote meetings– GS 166A-19.24— provided a roadmap for managing government business. Public officials have learned so much about how to do things differently. Shout out to all of you who have pivoted in so many new directions, to keep people safe and healthy, and keep […]
Posts Tagged ‘public hearings’
Clarification of Rules for Remote Meetings Under State Level State of Emergency: No More Waiting 24 Hours After Public Hearings!
Friday, June 18th, 2021Is a Quorum Necessary for a Public Hearing?
Friday, April 25th, 2014In accordance with G.S. 160A-364, a city has scheduled a public hearing on a proposed amendment to its zoning ordinance. Notice of the hearing has been provided in accordance with the statute, but it now appears that there will not be a quorum present on the day of the hearing. The council does not expect […]
Mandated Notices in Land Development Regulations
Tuesday, January 28th, 2014Note: Post updated 11/19/21 to incorporate statutory updates and make modest clarifications. Local governments make hundreds of decisions every day under local development regulations. Permits are issued or denied. Enforcement actions are initiated. Ordinance provisions are interpreted. Property is rezoned. Ordinances are amended. Do local governments have to provide notice that one of these decisions […]
Can Time Limits be Imposed on Speakers at a Zoning Hearing?
Wednesday, June 13th, 2012The county board of commissioners is holding a public hearing on a controversial rezoning. A sizable contingent of neighbors who oppose the project are present. Many have signed up to tell the commissioners just how terrible it would be if the rezoning were to be approved. Anticipating that opposition, the developer has brought nearly as […]
Open Meetings and the Public’s Right to Speak
Wednesday, November 16th, 2011North Carolina’s open meetings law creates a broad public right of access to meetings of public bodies by requiring notice of most kinds of meetings, and allowing anyone to attend them. Do those who attend have a guaranteed right to speak at these meetings? The answer is “no.” The open meetings law itself does not […]
Zoning and Satellite Annexations
Thursday, February 17th, 2011One of these days the developer of a proposed new energy-efficient open-space development (Greenfields) will come calling on the city. It will propose that the city satellite annex the Greenfields property, located almost a mile outside of town. Greenfields will need city water and sewer and will be prepared to pay for its extension. City […]
Zoning and North Carolina’s Fair Housing Act
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010Suppose that a town council holds a public hearing on a proposal to rezone one of the last vacant tracts of land in the northwest area of town from a single-family residential district to a multi-family residential district. Suppose also that this area of town is comprised predominately of single-family houses on larger lots. The […]
Fixing an Error on a Zoning Map
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010The mayor is finishing lunch with a couple of friends at the diner downtown. Just as she is about to dig into the best banana pudding in the state, an irate constituent barges in. Reaching the mayor’s booth, the red-faced constituent blurts, “I’ve really had it. Your gross incompetence is costing me thousands. Somebody needs […]
Do We Have to Hold Another Hearing on this Zoning Case?
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009The city council is holding a public hearing on a petition to rezone a parcel of land that fronts a highway leading into town. The owner has asked that the zoning be changed from a low-density residential district to a highway commercial district. The planning board recommended approval as the town’s plan calls for this […]
Can the Opinions of Neighbors be Considered in a Zoning Hearing?
Thursday, October 29th, 2009A national retailer plans to locate a new big box store on a large vacant lot adjacent to an existing single-family neighborhood. The town council is holding a hearing on a special use permit application for project. The zoning ordinance requires that the project not have a significant adverse impact on public safety and not have […]
What needs to be in the notice of a zoning hearing?
Friday, September 25th, 2009State law requires a public hearing before a zoning ordinance can be amended. Notice of the hearing must be published twice in a local paper. If the amendment proposes to change the zoning of property, notice of the hearing must also be mailed to the property owner and owners of adjacent property (and for good […]
Public Hearings for Economic Development Incentives: An Unwritten Rule?
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009North Carolina local governments frequently use cash grants as an economic development incentive to lure businesses into their respective jurisdictions. The grants are authorized under the Local Development Act, G.S. 158-7.1 et seq., but a quick read of the statutes might obscure the need for a public hearing prior to approving such incentives. To understand […]
When Are Public Hearings Required
Friday, August 21st, 2009A recurrent point of confusion is when must a city council or board of county commissioners hold a public hearing. Many governing boards spend a lot of time on zoning map amendments, and those actions require a public hearing, so a notion arises that other sorts of ordinances surely require a public hearing as well. […]
Electronic Meetings During the COVID-19 Emergency: Recommended Practices
Thursday, April 9th, 2020[UPDATE: Section 4.31 of Session Law 2020-3 enacted new G.S. 166A-19.24, which imposes a variety of procedural requirements on remote meetings held by public bodies during a state of emergency declared by the Governor or General Assembly. As defined by G.S. 166A-19.24, a “remote meeting” is one at which at least one board member participates […]
Tags:coronavirus, covid-19, Electronic meetings, Meeting notice, open meetings law, Public Comment Periods, public hearings, quorum, Voting
Posted in Featured Posts Related to COVID-19, General Local Government (Miscellaneous), Open Government, Open Meetings, Public Hearings | 2 Comments »