GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 281
Short Title: Restore Down-Zoning/Multiple Municipalities. (Local)
Sponsors: Representative Cairns.
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Judiciary 3, if favorable, Housing and Development, if favorable, Rules, Calendar,
and Operations of the House
March 5, 2025
*H281 -v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO RESTORE TH E AUTHORITY TO INITI ATE DOWN-ZONING IN 2
MOREHEAD CITY, THE T OWN OF BEAUFORT, THE TOWN OF BOGUE, THE 3
TOWN OF CAPE CARTERE T, THE TOWN OF CEDAR POINT, AND THE TOWN OF 4
NEWPORT. 5
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6
SECTION 1. G.S. 160D-601(d), as amended by Section 3K.1(a) of S.L. 2024-57, 7
reads as rewritten: 8
"(d) Down-Zoning. – No amendment to zoning regulations or a zoning map that 9
down-zones property shall be initiated, enacted, or enforced initiated nor is it enforceable without 10
the written consent of all property owners whose property is the subject of the down-zoning 11
amendment. amendment, unless the down-zoning amendment is initiated by the local 12
government. For purposes of this section, "down-zoning" means a zoning ordinance that affects 13
an area of land in one of the following ways: 14
(1) By decreasing the development density of the land to be less dense than was 15
allowed under its previous usage. 16
(2) By reducing the permitted uses of the land that are specified in a zoning 17
ordinance or land development regulation to fewer uses than were allowed 18
under its previous usage. 19
(3) By creating any type of nonconformity on land not in a residential zoning 20
district, including a nonconforming use, nonconforming lot, nonconforming 21
structure, nonconforming improvement, or nonconforming site element." 22
SECTION 2.(a) This act applies only to the municipality of Morehead City and the 23
Towns of Beaufort, Bogue, Cape Carteret, Cedar Point, and Newport. 24
SECTION 2.(b) This act is effective when it becomes law and applies retroactively 25
to December 11, 2024. Any adopted ordinance affected by Section 3K.1 of S.L. 2024-57 shall 26
be in effect as it was on or before December 11, 2024. 27