Orange County NC Website
:• PA <br />county prior to the call for public hearing to adopt the moratorium. Any preliminary <br />subdivision plat accepted for review by the county prior to the call for public hearing, if <br />subsequently approved, shall be allowed to proceed to final plat approval without being subject <br />to the moratorium. <br />Any ordinance establishing a development moratorium must expressly include at the time <br />of adoption each of the following: <br />(1) A clear statement of the problems or conditions necessitating the moratorium <br />and what courses of action, alternative to a moratorium, were considered by <br />the county and why those alternative courses of action were not deemed <br />adequate. <br />(2) A clear statement of the development approvals subject to the moratorium <br />and how a moratorium on those approvals will address the problems or <br />conditions leading to imposition of the moratorium. <br />(3) An express date for termination of the moratorium and a statement setting <br />forth why that duration is reasonably necessary to address the problems or <br />conditions leading to imposition of the moratorium. <br />(4) A clear statement of the actions, and the schedule for those actions, proposed <br />to be taken by the county during the duration of the moratorium to address <br />the problems or conditions leading to imposition of the moratorium. <br />No moratorium may be subsequently renewed or extended for any additional period unless <br />the city shall have taken all reasonable and feasible steps proposed to be taken by the county in <br />its ordinance establishing the moratorium to address the problems or conditions leading to <br />imposition of the moratorium and unless new facts and conditions warrant an extension. Any <br />ordinance renewing or extending a development moratorium must expressly include, at the <br />time of adoption, the findings set forth in subdivisions (1) through (4) of this subsection, <br />including what new facts or conditions warrant the extension. <br />Any person aggrieved by the imposition of a moratorium on development approvals <br />required by law may apply to the appropriate division of the General Court of Justice for an <br />order enjoining the enforcement of the moratorium, and the court shall have jurisdiction to <br />issue that order. Actions brought pursuant to this section shall be set down for immediate <br />hearing, and subsequent proceedings in those actions shall be accorded priority by the trial and <br />appellate courts. In any such action, the county shall have the burden of showing compliance <br />with the procedural requirements of this subsection. <br />(i) In order to encourage construction that uses sustainable design principles and to <br />improve energy efficiency in buildings, a county may charge reduced building permit fees or <br />provide partial rebates of building permit fees for buildings that are constructed or renovated <br />using design principles that conform to or exceed one or more of the following certifications or <br />ratings: <br />(1) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification or <br />higher rating under certification standards adopted by the U.S. Green <br />Building Council. <br />(2) A One Globe or higher rating under the Green Globes program standards <br />adopted by the Green Building Initiative. <br />(3) A certification or rating by another nationally recognized certification or <br />rating system that is equivalent or greater than those listed in subdivisions <br />(1) and (2) of this subsection. <br />(j) An ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall not prohibit single - family <br />detached residential uses constructed in accordance with the North Carolina State Building <br />Code on lots greater than 10 acres in size in zoning districts where more than fifty percent <br />G.S. 153A -340 Page 3 <br />