Title
Vote to approve a legislative request by the Chatham County Board of Commissioners for text amendments to the Chatham County Zoning Ordinance; specifically, Section 1 Title, Section 3 Bona Fide Farm Exempt, Section 7.2 Definitions, Section 10.13 Zoning Table of Permitted Uses, Section 14 Off Street Parking and Loading, and Section 19 Amendment to the Zoning Ordinance. These amendments are intended to maintain compliance with recent legislative changes to G.S. 160D and other statutes related to the Zoning Ordinance (update bona fide farm exemptions and remove off street parking requirements), add all townships to the title, incorporate additional uses in the table of permitted uses, modify staff participation in legislative processes, and remove waiting period for application resubmittal
Abstract
Introduction & Background: From time to time, the North Carolina General Assembly enacts legislation amending Chapter 160D of the North Carolina General Statutes or other applicable state statutes that requires corresponding amendments to the Chatham County Zoning Ordinance. The General Assembly recently enacted Session Law 2026-11 and Session Law 2026-39, which require updates to the Ordinance related to bona fide farm exemptions and off-street parking standards, respectively. Session Law 2026-39 places limitations on the ability of local governments to require off-street parking spaces for certain development and structures, while Session Law 2026-11 modifies the statutory provisions governing bona fide farm purposes and the applicability of local zoning regulations to those uses.
The proposed amendments also include several housekeeping and administrative changes. These include amendments to Section 1, Title, and Section 19 to remove the waiting period for an applicant to reapply following the denial or withdrawal of a submittal. Section 7.2, Definitions, is also being amended to add definitions for several uses that are currently included in the Table of Perm...
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