GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 196
Short Title: Winston-Salem/Forsyth Co. Planning & Zoning. (Local)
Sponsors: Senator Lowe (Primary Sponsor).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
March 3, 2025
*S196 -v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO AMEND THE ENABLING LAWS RELATI NG TO THE CITY-COUNTY 2
PLANNING AND ZONING IN FORSYTH COUNTY AN D THE CITY OF 3
WINSTON-SALEM. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
SECTION 1. Section 23 of Chapter 677 of the 1947 Session Laws, as amended by 6
Section 1(d) of Chapter 777 of the 1953 Session Laws, Section 1 of Chapter 381 of the 1973 7
Session Laws, Section 1 of Chapter 587 of the 1993 Session Laws, Section 1 of Chapter 588 of 8
the 1993 Session Laws, and Section 1 of S.L. 1999-98, reads as rewritten: 9
"Sec. 23. Zoning. The city City and the county County may by ordinance jointly or separately 10
confer upon the joint City and County Planning Board the authority and the duty of 11
recommending revisions of existing zoning ordinances or preparing new zoning ordinances or 12
resolutions for the city City or county County, or any portion thereof, in accordance with the 13
present zoning ordinance of the City of Winston-Salem and any amendments thereto and in 14
accordance with the authority for county zoning as herein authorized. The City may also by 15
ordinance confer the authority for the rezoning of property, including site plan amendments, to 16
the joint City and County Planning Board with certain rights of appeal and review before the City 17
Council. Such authority shall be exercised by the joint City and County Planning Board under 18
such rules, regulations, and guidelines as may be established by the City Council. 19
The Board of Aldermen City Council of the City of Winston-Salem is hereby empowered, in 20
accordance with the conditions and procedure specified in this act, by ordinance to regulate in 21
any portion or portions of the City of Winston-Salem the uses of buildings and structures for 22
trade, industry, residence, recreation, public activities or other purposes, and the uses of land for 23
trade, industry, residence, recreation, agriculture, water supply conservation, soil conservation, 24
forestry or other purposes. 25
For the purpose of increasing the availability of housing for persons of low or moderate 26
income, and thereby promoting the public safety and welfare, the City may by ordinance provide 27
a density bonus or other incentives of equivalent financial value to a developer of housing if that 28
developer agrees to construct multifamily residential units or single family residential units for 29
rent or sale to persons of low or moderate income, or to donate land to the City or the City of 30
Winston-Salem Housing Authority to be used for the purpose of the development of housing for 31
persons of low or moderate income, in the manner, and in accordance with the standards, 32
requirements, and regulations specified therein. For the purposes of this paragraph, 'density 33
bonus' means a density increase over the otherwise maximum allowable residential density under 34
the applicable zoning classification. 35 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 196-First Edition
For any or all these purposes, the City may divide its territorial jurisdiction into districts of 1
any number, shape, and area that may be deemed best suited to carry out the purposes of this 2
section; and within those districts it may regulate and restrict the erection, construction, 3
reconstruction, alteration, repair or use of buildings, structures, or land; those regulations may 4
also provide for density bonuses or other financial incentives to developers as specified 5
hereinabove. All regulations shall be uniform for each class or kind of buildings throughout each 6
district, but the regulations in one district may differ from those in other districts; provided, 7
however, that the City may provide for the creation of special use districts in addition to general 8
use districts. 9
It is the purpose and intent of this section to permit Winston-Salem to create general use 10
districts in which a variety of uses are permitted, and to also create special use districts in which 11
a single use is permitted upon the issuance by the Board of Aldermen City Council of a special 12
use permit prescribing the conditions under which such use will be permitted. 13
A person petitioning for rezoning of a tract of land, where special use districts are authorized 14
by ordinance, may elect to request general use district zoning for said tract, or he may elect to 15
request special use district zoning for said tract. 16
If he elects to petition for general use district zoning, he may not refer, either in his petition 17
or at any hearings related to the petition, to the use intended for the property upon rezoning. The 18
Board of Aldermen City Council may not consider the intended use in determining whether to 19
approve or disapprove the petition, but shall consider the full range of uses permitted within the 20
requested general use district. If the petition is approved, the re-zoned property may be used for 21
any of the uses permitted in the applicable general use district. 22
If the petitioner elects to petition for special use district zoning, the petition must specify the 23
actual use intended for the property specified in the petition, and the intended use must be one 24
permitted in the corresponding general use district. If the petition is for special use district zoning, 25
the Board of Aldermen City Council is to approve or disapprove the petition on the basis of the 26
specific use requested. If the petition is approved, the Board of Aldermen City Council shall issue 27
a special use district permit authorizing the requested use with such reasonable conditions as the 28
Board of Aldermen City Council determines to be desirable in promoting public health, safety 29
and general welfare. The act of issuing a special use district permit shall be deemed to be a 30
legislative act of the Board of Aldermen, City Council, and the procedural standards applicable 31
to the legislative acts shall apply to the consideration and issuance of a special use permit. 32
The conditions contained in a special use permit issued by the Board of Aldermen City 33
Council may include: location of the proposed use on the property; the number of dwelling units; 34
the location and extent of support facilities such as parking lots, driveways, and access streets; 35
location and extent of buffer areas and other special purpose areas; the timing of development; 36
and such other matters as the petitioner may propose and the Board of Aldermen City Council 37
may find appropriate. With approval of the petitioner, the conditions may include that upon the 38
occurrence or nonoccurrence of a specified event or events, including a stated time period or time 39
lapse, the property automatically reverts to its immediately preceding zoning classification 40
without further notice, proceedings, hearings, or Board action. 41
It is the further intent of this section to permit the creation of districts for specific uses and 42
the imposition of reasonable conditions in order to secure the public health, safety and welfare, 43
and insure that substantial justice be done. 44
For the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals and the general welfare of the City of 45
Winston-Salem and its inhabitants, and in order to give full effect to the zoning ordinance of the 46
City of Winston-Salem, as amended from time to time, said zoning ordinance, together with the 47
zone map, and any amendments thereto hereafter adopted, shall operate and have effect within 48
three miles of the corporate limits of the City of Winston-Salem, as now or hereafter established. 49
The Board of Aldermen City Council of the City of Winston-Salem may adopt ordinances from 50
time to time zoning and rezoning all or so much of said three mile area as, within the judgment 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Senate Bill 196-First Edition Page 3
of the board, should be brought under the operation and effect of the city zoning ordinance. The 1
board of adjustment and the administrative officer, within said three mile area, shall have and 2
may exercise all the powers and duties now or hereafter conferred upon them by the zoning 3
ordinance of the City of Winston-Salem. 4
The extension of said zoning ordinance to said three mile area and the ordinance adopted by 5
the Board of Aldermen City Council of the City of Winston-Salem from time to time shall 6
conform with the general development plan for this area, if and when promulgated by either of 7
the planning boards herein created. 8
Wherever in this Act the City Planning Board or the Board of Aldermen City Council of the 9
City of Winston-Salem or the Board of Adjustment of the City of Winston-Salem are given 10
authority in the territory outside of the corporate limits of the City of Winston-Salem, the exercise 11
of such authority beyond one mile from the corporate limits of the City of Winston-Salem shall 12
be subject to the approval of the Board of Commissioners of Forsyth County." 13
SECTION 2. Section 41 of Chapter 677 of the 1947 Session Laws reads as rewritten: 14
"Sec. 41. Definitions. The words "amend," "amendment," "amendments," or "amended," in 15
this Act, shall be deemed to include any modification of the text or phraseology of any provision 16
of any zoning resolution, or amendment thereof, or any repeal or elimination of any such 17
provision, or part thereof, or any addition to the ordinance, or to an amendment thereof, and shall 18
also be deemed to include any change in the number, shape, boundary or area of any district or 19
districts, any repeal or abolition of any map forming part of or referred to, in any zoning 20
resolution or any part of such map, any addition to such map, any new map or maps, or any other 21
change in the map or any map. The terms "Board of Aldermen" and "City Council" in this Act 22
shall be deemed to have the same meaning." 23
SECTION 3. This act applies to the City of Winston-Salem only. 24
SECTION 4. This act is effective when it becomes law. 25