Agenda - 08-26-1991 - Laserfiche WebLink

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2] bona fide farms... I, to the extent the regulations attempt to have the counties use their zoning power to control agriculture and silviculture they are in violation of this statutory restriction. "GRANDFATHERING" AND COMMENCEMENT OF NEW ACTIVITIES .0104(s) and (t) permit the "grandfathering" of existing development on the date of the close of the public hearings. The commencement of new activities following the closing date of the public hearings must comply with the rules. These two provisions violate the Law of the Land Clause of the North Carolina Constitution. First, on the closing date of the public hearings, unless rules are adopted on that date, no one knows what the rules will be on July 1, 1992 with which they will be required to comply. Further, the local government will have no authority other than to permit development in the watersheds until such time as these rules become effective and local ordinances are adopted implementing the rules. At present, the deadline for the approval by the Environmental Management Commission of county ordinances is set at January 1, 1994. Until such time, a county government will have no way to regulate the development which is being continued in the watersheds. As such, these two paragraphs should be amended to reflect that development is "grandfathered" in on such date as the local ordinance is adopted and becomes effective in each local jurisdiction. Additionally, the last sentence of (t) which provides that if the local government permits activities subsequent to the closing date of the public hearings that the remainder of the jurisdiction will have to compensate for these permits, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution and the Law of the Land Clause of the North Carolina Constitution insofar as it provides for differing regulation of two identical pieces of property by one government. STATE - CONTROL OF LOCAL PROGRAMS .0104(1), (w), and (x), together provide for intrusion on the local government authority in violation of Article II, Section 24 of the North Carolina Constitution limiting the legislatures authority to enact local or private laws relating to health and non - navigable streams. As the General Assembly does not have the authority directly to control a local government program dealing with a specific variance on a_given Piece of property, it does not have the authority to vest the Environmental Management Commission with the authority to regulate the local program or permit variances on individual tracts of land. Further, the attempt by an appointed administrative agency of the executive branch of government to control local legislative bodies is a violation of Separation of Powers Clause of the North Carolina Constitution. Additionally, the ability to grant variances for zoning appeals, is granted to the local Board of Adjustment by G.S. § 153A -345. Any change -2-