GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

S	2 

SENATE BILL 1291*
Transportation Committee Substitute Adopted 6/11/98

Short Title:  Transportation Corridors.	(Public)

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Sponsors:

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Referred to:  

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May 27, 1998

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, REGIONAL PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITIES, AND REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITIES TO CREATE TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS AND PROTECT THEM FROM DEVELOPMENT.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Article 2E of Chapter 136 reads as rewritten:
"ARTICLE 2E.
" Transportation Corridor Official Map Act.
"§ 136-44.50.  Transportation corridor official map act.
(a)	A transportation corridor official map may be adopted or amended by any of the following:
(1)	The governing board of any city for any thoroughfare included as part of a comprehensive plan for streets and highways adopted pursuant to G.S. 136-66.2 or for any proposed public transportation corridor included in the adopted long-range transportation plan.
(2)	The Board of Transportation for any portion of the existing or proposed State highway system or for any public transportation corridor, to include rail, that is in the Transportation Improvement Program.
(3)	Regional public transportation authorities created pursuant to Article 26 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes or regional transportation authorities created pursuant to Article 27 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes for any proposed public transportation corridor included in the adopted long-range transportation plan.
Before a city adopts a transportation corridor official map that extends beyond the extraterritorial jurisdiction of its building permit issuance and subdivision control ordinances, or adopts an amendment to a transportation corridor official map outside the extraterritorial jurisdiction of its building permit issuance and subdivision control ordinances, the city shall obtain approval from the Board of County Commissioners.  
No transportation corridor official map shall be adopted or amended, nor may any property be regulated under this Article until:
(1)	The governing board of the city, the regional transportation authority, or the Department of Transportation has held a public hearing in each county affected by the map on the proposed map or amendment.  Notice of the hearing shall be provided:
a.	By publication at least once a week for four successive weeks prior to the hearing in a newspaper having general circulation in the county in which the transportation corridor to be designated is located.
b.	By two week written notice to the Secretary of Transportation, the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, and the Mayor of any city or town through whose corporate or extraterritorial jurisdiction the transportation corridor passes.
c.	By posting copies of the proposed transportation corridor map or amendment at the courthouse door for at least 21 days prior to the hearing date.  The notice required in sub-subdivision a. above shall make reference to this posting.
(2)	A permanent certified copy of the transportation corridor official map or amendment has been filed with the register of deeds.  The boundaries may be defined by map or by written description, or a combination thereof.  The copy shall measure approximately 20 inches by 12 inches, including no less than one and one-half inches binding space on the left-hand side.
(b)	Transportation corridor official maps and amendments shall be distributed and maintained in the following manner:
(1)	A copy of the official map and each amendment thereto shall be filed in the office of the city clerk and in the office of the district engineer.
(2)	A copy of the official map, each amendment thereto and any variance therefrom granted pursuant to G.S. 136-44.52 shall be furnished to the tax supervisor of any county and tax collector of any city affected thereby.  The portion of properties embraced within a transportation corridor and any variance granted shall be clearly indicated on all tax maps maintained by the county or city for such period as the designation remains in effect.
(3)	Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the certified copy filed with the register of deeds shall be placed in a book maintained for that purpose and cross-indexed by number of road, street name, or other appropriate description.  The register of deeds shall collect a fee of five dollars ($5.00) for each map sheet or page recorded.
(c)	Repealed by Session Laws 1989, c. 595, s. 1. 
(d)	Within two years following the establishment of a transportation corridor official map or amendment, work shall begin on an environmental impact statement or preliminary engineering.  The failure to begin work within the two-year period shall constitute an abandonment of the corridor, and the provisions of this Article shall no longer apply to properties or portions of properties embraced within the transportation corridor.  A city may prepare environmental impact studies and preliminary engineering work in connection with the establishment of a transportation corridor official map or amendments to a transportation corridor official map.  When a city prepares a transportation corridor official map for a street or highway that has been designated a State responsibility pursuant to G.S. 136-66.2, the environmental impact study and preliminary engineering work shall be reviewed and approved by the Department of Transportation.
"§ 136-44.51.  Effect of transportation corridor official map.
(a)	After a transportation corridor official map is filed with the register of deeds, no building permit shall be issued for any building or structure or part thereof located within the transportation corridor, nor shall approval of a subdivision, as defined in G.S. 153A-335 and G.S. 160A-376, be granted with respect to property within the transportation corridor.  The Secretary of Transportation or his designee shall be notified within 10 days of all requests for building permits or subdivision approval within the transportation corridor.  The provisions of this section shall not apply to valid building permits issued prior to August 7, 1987, or to building permits for buildings and structures which existed prior to the filing of the transportation corridor provided the size of the building or structure is not increased and the type of building code occupancy as set forth in the North Carolina Building Code is not changed.
(b)	No application for building permit issuance or subdivision plat approval shall be delayed by the provisions of this section for more than three years from the date of its original submittal.
"§ 136-44.52.  Variance from transportation corridor official map.
(a)	The Department of Transportation, the regional public transportation authority, the regional transportation authority, or the city which initiated the transportation corridor official map shall establish procedures for considering petitions for variance from the requirements of G.S. 136-44.51.
(b)	The procedure established by the State shall provide for written notice to the Mayor and Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners of any affected city or county, and for the hearing to be held in the county where the affected property is located.
(c)	Cities may provide for petitions for variances to be heard by the board of adjustment or other boards or commissions which can hear variances authorized by G.S. 160A-388.  The procedures for boards of adjustment shall be followed except that no vote greater than a majority shall be required to grant a variance.
(d)	A variance may be granted upon a showing that:
(1)	Even with the tax benefits authorized by this Article, no reasonable return may be earned from the land; and
(2)	The requirements of G.S. 136-44.51 result in practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships.
"§ 136-44.53.  Advance acquisition of right-of-way within the transportation corridor.
(a)	After a transportation corridor official map is filed with the register of deeds, the Department of Transportation, the regional public transportation authority, the regional transportation authority, or the city which initiated the transportation corridor official map may make advanced acquisition of specific parcels of property when that acquisition is determined by the respective governing board to be in the best public interest to protect the transportation corridor from development or when the transportation corridor official map creates an undue hardship on the affected property owner.
(b)	Prior to making any advanced acquisition of right-of-way under the authority of this Article, the Board of Transportation or the respective governing board which initiated the transportation corridor official map shall develop and adopt appropriate policies and procedures to govern the advanced acquisition of right-of-way and to assure that the advanced acquisition is in the best overall public interest.
(c)	When a city makes an advanced right-of-way acquisition of property within a transportation corridor official map for a street or highway that has been determined to be a State responsibility pursuant to the provisions of G.S. 136-66.2, the Department of Transportation shall reimburse the city for the cost of any advanced right-of-way acquisition at the time the street or highway is constructed.  The Department of Transportation shall have no responsibility to reimburse a municipality for any advanced right-of-way acquisition for a street or highway that has not been designated a State responsibility pursuant to the provisions of G.S. 136-66.2 prior to the initiation of the advanced acquisition by the city.  The city shall obtain the concurrence of the Department of Transportation in all instances of advanced acquisition.
(d)	In exercising the authority granted by this section, a municipality is authorized to expend municipal funds for the protection of rights-of-way shown on a duly adopted transportation corridor official map whether the right-of-way to be acquired is located inside or outside the municipal corporate limits."
Section 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.