After SB 382 override, optimism that controversial zoning section will be removed

By Kip Tabb | Outer Banks Voice on December 13, 2024

By Kip Tabb  | Outer Banks Voice

Nags Head Mayor Ben Cahoon expresses confidence, if not certainty, that the zoning provision will be corrected. (file photo)

Now that Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 382 has been overridden, some officials who spoke to the Voice express optimism that a down-zoning provision that has sparked strong opposition locally will eventually be removed.

That provision, called “No Local Government Down-Zoning Without Consent of Affected Property Owner,” seriously restricts the zoning authority of municipal officials and would require the consent of all affected property owners, whether resident or nonresident, to agree to the change.

The towns of Duck, Manteo and Kitty Hawk passed resolutions opposing the down-zoning section. The town of Nags Head suggested residents contact state Representative Keith Kidwell and ask him not to override the veto.

State Senator Bobby Hanig, who expressed misgivings about the way the bill was created, but voted for the override, is optimistic the zoning section will be removed. Asked by the Voice if he expected the legislature to act when it reconvenes in January, he said, “I have already had language drafted to have it repealed. We will submit when [the new} session starts. I do not see any headwinds at all. It does have overwhelming support in both chambers.”

Other legislators representing the Outer Banks in Raleigh did not respond to Voice requests for their position on removing the provision. Representatives Ed Goodwin and Keith Kidwell and Senator Norman Sanderson were contacted by email and phone for comment for this article.

Asked by the Voice if he had heard from either Kidwell or Sanderson, Nags Head Mayor Ben Cahoon stated that he had not. He is also optimistic, however, that the down-zoning section will be addressed by the incoming legislature when it begins a new session in January, although his optimism is somewhat muted.

“No word from Sanderson or Kidwell,” he said. [“I’m] About 80% confident of a correction. But a full restoration of our zoning authority? Less confident.”

In an interview for an earlier Voice story about SB 382, Dare County Manager Bobby Outten said he believed either a “stand-alone bill” or a “technical corrections bill” would ultimately be passed to remove the zoning language.

At least one provision of SB382 has already spurred a lawsuit from the governor’s office.

Governor Elect Josh Stein and Governor Cooper have filed suit in Wake County Superior Court over a section of the bill that would take responsibility for appointing the head of the state Highway Patrol from the governor and give it to the state legislature. The suit alleges that one of the “chief responsibilities of the Governor of North Carolina is to lead efforts to keep North Carolinians safe.”

Additional lawsuits challenging other provisions in the bill are expected in the coming days.