Planning and Permitting Aspects of Helene Recovery Legislation
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, the North Carolina General Assembly took action with recovery legislation, enacting the Disaster Recovery Act of 2024 (Part I), Session Law 2024-51, and the Disaster Recovery Act of 2024 – Part II, Session Law 2024-53. Understandably these bills cover a wide range of topics from recovery funding to criminal justice to education requirements to regulatory relief. Some of the changes are specific to planning, permitting, and development regulation. This blog summarizes those planning and development topics.
Permit Fees. Section 16.2 of Disaster Recovery Act, Part I, limits permit fees for development. The act provides that local governments “shall not impose any fee associated with a permit, inspection, or certificate of occupancy required by law for construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, movement to another site, removal, or demolition of a manufactured home, building, dwelling, or structure damaged as a direct result of Hurricane Helene.” The moratorium applies in the counties designated under the presidential disaster declaration and runs from September 26, 2024, to December 31, 2024. Any fees collected that are subject to the moratorium must be refunded, and local governments must communicate the availability of the refund on the local government website. This section also applies to the Department of Insurance.
The language of the act indicates that the permit fee waiver is targeted toward building permit fees. The language is broad, however; it refers to “any fee associated with a permit, inspection, or certificate of occupancy.” As such, this language arguably waives fees for zoning permits and similar development approvals.
A local government could choose to waive other fees. Such waiver would need to be adopted into the local fee schedule by governing board action. If the fee schedule was adopted by ordinance, it should be amended by ordinance. Some fees (such as utility fees) have a prescribed process, including public hearing. Any required procedure must be followed to amend the fee schedule.
