GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1999

S	1 

SENATE BILL 723*

Short Title:  Chapel Hill Omnibus Act.  	(Local)

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Sponsors: Senators Kinnaird and Lee.

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Referred to:  State and Local Government.

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April 1, 1999

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT MAKING OMNIBUS AMENDMENTS CONCERNING THE TOWN OF CHAPEL HILL.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Chapter II of the Charter of the Town of Chapel Hill, being Chapter 473 of the 1975 Session Laws, as amended, is amended by adding the following new sections to read:
"Sec. 2.6. Disclosure of contributors.
(a)	The Town Council may by ordinance require the disclosure by candidates (and their political committees) for elective town office of the names of all contributors to their campaign.  The ordinance may exempt from disclosure contributions below a monetary amount set in the ordinance.
(b)	The ordinance shall apply regardless of the total amount of contributions, loans, or expenditures by the campaign.
(c)	G.S. 163-278.10A does not apply to municipal elections in the Town of Chapel Hill.
"Sec. 2.7. Limitation on contributions.
Except as provided by G.S. 163-278.13(c), the Town Council may by ordinance limit the amount of contributions which any individual, person, or political committee may contribute to any candidate for town office or to any political committee of that candidate.
"Sec. 2.8. Definitions.  The definitions in Article 22A of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes apply to Sections 2.6 and 2.7 of this Charter."
Section 2.  Article 2 of Chapter V of the Charter of the Town of Chapel Hill, being Chapter 473 of the 1975 Session Laws, as amended, is amended by adding the following new section to read:
"Sec. 5.19.  Ordinances requiring provision of housing for persons of low and moderate income.
(a)	Subject to the provision of subsection (b) of this section, for the purpose of increasing the availability of housing for persons of low and moderate income and thereby promoting the public health, safety, and welfare, the Town of Chapel Hill may enact ordinances which may require that subdividers of residentially zoned land and developers of housing within the Town and its extraterritorial planning jurisdiction:
(1)	Construct up to but no more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the total dwelling units of a housing development for persons of low or moderate income; or
(2)	Construct up to but no more than ten percent (10%) of the total units of housing development for lower income persons; or
(3)	Dedicate land in the immediate area of the subdivision or development for use by the Town for housing for persons of low and moderate income, or provide funds to the Town whereby the Town may acquire other lands or areas for the purpose of providing additional housing; or
(4)	Provide housing opportunities for persons of low and moderate income.  Any formula enacted to determine the amount of funds that are to be provided under this subsection shall be based on the value of the development or subdivision for property tax purposes.
(b)	The authority of subsection (a) of this section may only be exercised when a proposed development or subdivision contains at least 10 dwelling units or is at least 10 acres in size, or both.
(c)	The Town may exercise the authority granted in subsection (a) of this section only if the Town either grants a density bonus or provides other incentives of equivalent financial value to a developer required to provide low- or moderate-income housing."
Section 3. Chapter V of the Charter of the Town of Chapel Hill, being Chapter 473 of the 1975 Session Laws, as amended, is amended by adding the following new Articles to read:
"Article 9. Adequate Public Facilities.
"Sec. 5.50.  Adequate public facilities ordinance authorized.
For the purpose of protecting against scattered or premature development of land that would threaten the public health, safety, and welfare due to lack of adequate water supply, sewerage, stormwater drainage, traffic circulation, mass transit, solid waste, open space, parks, schools, fire protection, or any other public facilities or services; for the purpose of preventing the excessive, inefficient, and uncoordinated expenditure of public funds for the supply of such facilities or services; and for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, and general welfare of the community, the Town of Chapel Hill may exercise the following powers:
(1)	To adopt ordinances to assure that public facilities or services (including, but not limited to, streets and roads, sidewalks, traffic control devices, water and sewer lines, and schools) are available at an adequate level of service to serve proposed development.
(2)	To condition development application approvals upon the applicant's provision of transportation management programs which address the traffic and transportation impacts of the new development, which programs may include, but are not limited to, requirements for improvements to public transportation facilities impacted by the proposed development or payments in lieu of improvements.
(3)	To adopt ordinances to require existing development to address the impact on the health, safety, and general welfare of the community, of traffic generated or promoted by that development, including the authority to require implementation of transportation management plans and other steps to ensure implementation of an appropriate transportation management program by existing development.
"Article 10. Regulation of Open Burning.
	"Sec. 5.51.  After conducting a public hearing, the Town may adopt ordinances to regulate and prohibit the open burning of trees, limbs, stumps, and construction debris within the Town or the Town's extraterritorial jurisdiction.
The Town may, as a condition of approval for any permit for a subdivision, clearing and development of land, or construction of buildings within the Town or the Town's extraterritorial jurisdiction, regulate and prohibit the open burning of trees, limbs, stumps, and construction debris associated with the permitted activity."
Section 4.(a) G.S. 163-47(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The chief judges and judges of election shall conduct the primaries and elections within their respective precincts fairly and impartially, and they shall enforce peace and good order in and about the place of registration and voting. On the day of each primary and general and special election, the precinct chief judge and judges shall remain at the voting place from the time fixed by law for the commencement of their duties there until they have completed all those duties, and they shall not separate nor shall any one of them leave the voting place except for unavoidable necessity. Notwithstanding the requirement in the previous sentence, the county board of elections may allow judges of election to serve for half-day shifts."
Section 4.(b) This act applies to Orange County only.
Section 5. This act is effective when it becomes law.