Stanly commissioners state opposition to planning, zoning state bills

Published 9:15 am Wednesday, April 19, 2023

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The Stanly County Board of Commissioners took a united stance against a bill in the state legislature regarding potential statewide planning and zoning changes.

With a 7-0 vote, commissioners passed a resolution opposing North Carolina House Bill 562 and Senate Bill 317.

The act, according to County Manager Andy Lucas, would “take away a lot of county authority with respect to planning and zoning.”

Lucas said the bill would allow subdivisions anywhere developers wanted to build them as long as 20% of the subdivision was in the workforce.

“It takes a lot of the rezoning and conditional-type zoning away from you all. You can’t charge system development fees,” Lucas said.

Lucas added the workforce only has to live in the house for 12 months for it to be considered as workforce housing.

Lucas also said he did not know if a good mechanism was in place to track whether residences would qualify for the workforce stipulations.

The new bill would also take power away for counties to set fees, setbacks and other standards.

The resolution passed by the commissioners states the bills are “contrary to the growth philosophy of Stanly County and the County’s efforts to effectively manage growth.”

The resolution states Stanly has “a deliberate plan” to preserve “farm land, opens spaces and the quality of life.” It goes on to state the legislation “does not require the lots be served by any public utility, and developers may provide ‘private systems’ with no provision for ongoing maintenance and replacement of private systems.”

“The added stress and demand on the county’s infrastructure,” the resolution continues, “would eventually lead to declining property values.”

About Charles Curcio

Charles Curcio has served as the sports editor of the Stanly News & Press for more than 16 years and has written numerous news and feature storeis as well. He was awarded the NCHSAA Tim Stevens Media Representative of the Year and named CNHI Sports Editor of the Year in 2014. He has also won an award from Boone Newspapers, and has won four North Carolina Press Association awards.

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