Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Community ALERT: NCGA posed to repeal law that protects homeowners rights.

 

Community SCALE members have organized this petition drive to facilitate a fast response from the community. Please sign and share this with your neighbors and friends immediately. Because the NC legislature is tagging laws of considerable importance onto other bills, it is difficult to track this legislation by bill number. It is being considered in multiple forms as we write. 


This is a state-wide initiative. 


http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/protect-the-protest-petition-law-in-nc/ 

 

Raleigh has risen to the top of national rankings by promoting quality growth that also protects our property rights and quality of life. For decades, Raleigh and municipalities throughout North Carolina have relied on a state law giving property owners next to rezoning proposals the right to file a Protest Petition, effectively raising the bar for approval from five to six Council votes. A final vote on Senate Bill 112 would repeal protest petitions statewide.

 

Every development proposal creates some community impacts such as more traffic, noise, stormwater runoff and so forth. A Protest Petition acknowledges that adjacent property owners are almost always impacted the most and should therefore be considered for added protection. Although Protest Petitions are seldom used, their repeal will make it harder to promote quality growth that also protects property rights.  Quality growth that respects property rights is what creates jobs throughout our state.

 

What action is needed:

 

1. Please sign this petition to ask the NC Legislature to protect your rights as a homeowner and NOT to repeal the “Protest Petition” law.

 

2.  Please call or email your Wake Delegation Members and politely ask them to remove the Protest Petition Repeal from SB112.  

 

The Legislature is trying to finish their session this week so please sign and share with your contacts asap.

Why is this important:

If the Protest Petition option is repealed, homeowners will have no recourse to protect their own property rights from the potential negative impacts of new development. 

The Protest Petitions law, started in 1923, was designed to give homeowners a voice when new developments that require rezoning are planned adjacent to their properties. The Protest Petition is composed of the signatures of people who own at least 5 percent of a 100-foot buffer around the proposed development. When such a valid Protest Petition is filed, the proposed project requires approval of three quarters of the local board (City Council, Town Council). 

 

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/protect-the-protest-petition-law-in-nc/