AN ACT to allow local governments to establish military influence areas to prevent incompatible development and protect military readiness.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Article 9 of Chapter 160D of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 160D‑917.  Military influence areas.

(a)        For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1)        Major military installation. – Defined in G.S. 143‑151.71(5).

(2)        Military influence area. – All property within 5 miles of the property line of a major military installation.

(b)        Notwithstanding G.S. 160D‑601(d), a local government may adopt and enforce a zoning regulation or unified development ordinance which provides specific requirements for military influence areas, provided that such zoning regulation or unified development ordinance contains, at minimum, the following standards:

(1)        All development approvals within the military influence area shall require the applicant to submit proof of coordination with the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to demonstrate that the proposed project will not have an adverse effect on the operational readiness of a major military installation.

(2)        The governing board or planning commission shall incorporate into all development approvals a statement that the proposed project will not impede training operations or other military activity within the major military installation.

(3)        Prior to any public hearing pertaining to a quasi‑judicial or administrative decision regarding property within a military influence area, the deciding body shall provide notice of the hearing to the commander of the affected major military installation by certified mail not less than 10 days nor more than 25 days before the date fixed for the hearing. Such notice must provide, at minimum, a description of the property and the nature of the decision to be considered at the hearing.

(4)        Any site plan for a property within a military influence area shall utilize buffering or screening to mitigate the impacts of light and noise on the major military installation and to protect the privacy of the major military installation.

(c)        Except as otherwise provided in this section, a zoning regulation or unified development ordinance regulating a military influence area is subject to the requirements of this Chapter.

(d)       Nothing in this section shall be construed as denying a property owner their vested rights under Article 1 of this Chapter.

SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Military Affairs Commission of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) in nonrecurring funds to conduct a joint land‑use study between major military installations and local governments affected by this act.

SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.