§ 16-321. Protest to the amendment.

(a)

A protest may be filed against a proposed change to a zoning designation. In order to qualify as a protest under this section, a petition must be signed by the owners of either:

(1)

20 percent or more of the area included in the proposed change; or

(2)

Five percent of a 100-foot-wide buffer extending along the entire boundary of each discrete or separate area proposed to be rezoned.

(b)

A street right-of-way shall not be considered in computing the 100-foot buffer area as long as that street right-of-way is 100 feet wide or less. When less than an entire parcel of land is subject to the proposed zoning map amendment, the 100-foot buffer shall be measured from the property line of that parcel.

(c)

In the evidence to the contrary, the town may rely on the county tax listing to determine the owner of potentially qualifying areas.

(d)

No protest against any change in or amendment to a zoning ordinance or zoning map shall be valid or effective for the purposes of G.S. 106A-385 unless it is in the form of a written petition actually bearing the signatures of the requisite number of property owners stating that the signers do protest the proposed change or amendment, and unless it shall be received by the zoning administrator/building inspector in sufficient time to allow at least two normal work days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, before the date established for a public hearing on the proposed change or amendment to determine the sufficiency and accuracy of the petition. A person who has signed a protest petition may withdraw his name from the petition at any time prior to the vote on the proposed zoning amendment. Only those protest petitions that meet the qualifying standards set forth in G.S. 160A-385 at the time of the vote on the zoning amendment shall trigger the supermajority voting requirement. In the case of a qualified protest against a zoning map amendment the amendment shall not become effective except by favorable vote of three-fourths of all members of the board of commissioners. For the purposes of this subsection, vacant positions on the board and commissioners excused from voting shall not be considered members for calculation of the requisite supermajority.

(Ord. No. 95-008, § 5.5, 12-13-1995)