A bill working its way through the N.C. House of Representatives would allow civil lawsuits against individuals for development decisions they make on city councils or planning boards.
The language is tucked into a wide-ranging bill rewriting development regulations that has bipartisan support from 13 Republicans and nine Democrats.
Rep. Jeff Zenger, a Forsyth County Republican, is a primary sponsor of House Bill 765. He says the legislation makes it easier for developers to build affordable housing.
"We've got a generation of folks that if we're not careful, we're going to box them out of the American dream," Zenger said in a committee meeting last week.
Zenger owns a building company and previously sued the town of Lewisville over a contentious rejected development. He won $2 million in a settlement.
Rep. Jay Adams, a fellow Republican from Catawba County, rejected Zenger’s characterization. He said it was essentially "a homebuilders' bill."
"It's really about taking away municipalities' ability to govern how housing is built and where it's built and how much of it's built," Adams said. "And I've got a little bit of a problem with that."
Local leaders say HB 765 goes too far
The bill contains 31 pages of rewrites to North Carolina development regulations. Those changes include:
- Allowing civil lawsuits against decision-makers for damages tied to development decisions. This includes elected officials and board appointees.
- Barring voting on a land-use decision by officials who have "a fixed opinion… on the matter that appears not susceptible to change."
- Requiring cities of at least 125,000 allow tiny homes, and at least one accessory dwelling unit per single-family home. This includes Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Durham, Winston-Salem, Fayetteville, Cary, and soon, Wilmington.
- Doing away with requirements to build a certain number of parking spaces per business, something Durham, Raleigh and Gastonia have all done.
- Limiting local authority to control building design; require sidewalks or plant borders; or regulate developments' interior roads and driveways.
- Requiring all land-use decisions be made within 104 days of an application, or else approval is automatically granted.
- Scaling back a controversial law passed last year limiting down-zoning.
- Allowing the building by-right of at least four homes per acre in residential zones statewide.
- Making it harder to create a historic district.
Ann Schneider, an Oak Ridge Town Council member, called the proposed new standards "incredibly vague."
The NC League of Municipalities wrote to its members earlier this month that the bill takes "a radical approach."
In response, the governments of Kill Devil Hills, Wilmington, Henderson County and Rowan County all have passed resolutions opposing the legislation. Leaders of cities in Forsyth County will likely soon join them.
NC faces 'housing supply gap'
Supporters argue the best way to lower the price of housing is to build more of it.
A new report showed there is a large ”housing supply gap” in North Carolina — estimated to approach 765,000 units by 2029. That report was commissioned by the NC Chamber and state associations representing homebuilders and Realtors.
That gap could be solved through a combination of new construction, repairs to existing housing and financial assistance to the most needy, the study suggest.
The starkest needs identified in the report are for:
- Affordable rentals for low-income earners.
- Homes for sale for people making 121 to 150% of median income, particularly considering an anticipated influx of new residents.
"We are in a crisis," said Rep. Carla Cunningham, a Mecklenburg County Democrat who is among the bill’s primary sponsors.
The legislation faced a wide variety of questions last week as it passed the Housing and Development Committee. The House Rules Committee will be the next to consider the bill, the last step before the full House would vote on it.
Rep. Matthew Winslow, a Franklin County Republican and home builder, urged legislators to "bring us solutions" as the bill continues to be workshopped.
The General Assembly returns to Raleigh on Monday.
