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Read. Follow. Verify.North Carolina restores local government authority to initiate down-zoning in six coastal municipalities
Last action · March 5, 2025: Ref to the Com on Judiciary 3, if favorable, Housing and Development, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (House action)Sponsors: Celeste Cairns and 7 others
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What This Bill Would Do
Local governments in Morehead City, Beaufort, Bogue, Cape Carteret, Cedar Point, and Newport are once again allowed to initiate amendments without obtaining written consent from all affected property owners, retroactive to December 11, 2024.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Property owners in affected municipalities
Municipal governments of Morehead City, Beaufort, Bogue, Cape Carteret, Cedar Point, and Newport
Local governments regain the legal authority to initiate and enforce down-zoning regulations without unanimous property owner consent.
Key Facts
- Applies exclusively to Morehead City and the towns of Beaufort, Bogue, Cape Carteret, Cedar Point, and Newport.
- Allows local governments to initiate, enact, or enforce down-zoning amendments without the written consent of all affected property owners.
- Defines down-zoning to include decreasing development density, reducing permitted uses, or creating nonconformities on non-residential land.
- Applies retroactively to December 11, 2024.
Show all 5 facts
- Restores any ordinance affected by Section 3K.1 of S.L. 2024-57 to its status as of or before December 11, 2024.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
3 actions- Mar 5, 2025HouseRef to the Com on Judiciary 3, if favorable, Housing and Development, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Mar 5, 2025HousePassed 1st Reading
- Mar 4, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Reversal of Prior Zoning Restriction
The bill directly modifies and overrides restrictions previously imposed on specific local governments by Section 3K.1 of S.L. 2024-57.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.ncleg.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance60How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy50Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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