AN ACT to exclude the designation of historic districts as down‑zoning in mecklenburg County.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 160D‑601 reads as rewritten:

§ 160D‑601.  Procedure for adopting, amending, or repealing development regulations.

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(d)       Down‑Zoning. – No amendment to zoning regulations or a zoning map that down‑zones property shall be initiated, enacted, or enforced without the written consent of all property owners whose property is the subject of the down‑zoning amendment. For purposes of this section, down‑zoning means a zoning ordinance that affects an area of land in one of the following ways:

(1)        By decreasing the development density of the land to be less dense than was allowed under its previous usage.

(2)        By reducing the permitted uses of the land that are specified in a zoning ordinance or land development regulation to fewer uses than were allowed under its previous usage.

(3)        By creating any type of nonconformity on land not in a residential zoning district, including a nonconforming use, nonconforming lot, nonconforming structure, nonconforming improvement, or nonconforming site element.

(e)        Withdrawn or Denied Applications. – A development regulation or unified development ordinance may not include waiting periods prohibiting a landowner, developer, or applicant from refiling a denied or withdrawn application for a zoning map amendment, text amendment, development application, or request for development approval.

(f)        Historic Districts. – The designation of a historic district by zoning regulation pursuant to G.S. 160D‑944 shall not be deemed down‑zoning for the purposes of this section.

SECTION 2.(a)  This act applies only to Mecklenburg County.

SECTION 2.(b)  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies retroactively to December 11, 2024.