Population: 7,650,789
Counties: 100
Governor
Mike Easley
Key Laws/Administrative
Actions/Media
Reports/Organizations/Calendar
Click here
for the amount of protected land in North Carolina, and click here
to review North Carolina's federal transportation spending.
Source: Pew
Center on the States &
Changing Direction: Federal Transportation
Spending in the 1990s. Surface
Transportation Policy Project
AFFORDABLE HOUSING HIGHLIGHTS
The following are some the legislative priorities
for the North Carolina Low Income Housing Coalition the 2001 legislative
session:
· $50 million in recurring annual appropriations
to the Housing Trust Fund
· Give local governments express statutory
authority to adopt inclusionary housing programs that require that all
large new housing developments include some affordable homes in return
for compensating density bonuses.
· Expand the state housing tax credit
from 25% to 75% of the federal credit for Tier 3, 4 and 5 (more urban)
enterprise areas.
· Authorize $5 million in Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families to be used for housing costs.
NCLIHC acts as a clearinghouse and unified voice
for several local housing organizations throughout the state, http://www.nclihc.org/coalitions.html.
To learn more about the North Carolina Low Income Housing Coalition's goals
and priorities, click here http://www.nclihc.org/lgagen.html.
Contact information:
NC Low Income Housing Coalition
3948 Browning Place, Suite 210
Raleigh, NC 27609
housing@nclihc.org
Key Laws:
For an overview of North Carolina's planning
and zoning statutes, see a summary provided by the American
Planning Association .
1999 CLEAN WATER ACT
Due to the destructive affect of large hog farms
on North Carolina's rural public health and quality of life, on July 21,
Governor Hunt signed the Clean Water Act of 1999 into law, extending the
moratorium on new or expanded large-scale hog farms, raising the maximum
water pollution fine from $10,000 per day to $25,000 per day and imposing
public disclosure requirements for spills at wastewater treatment plants
and from animal
operations.
H.B. 1468 Growth Management Act (1999)
This act will create a growth management framework
including impact fees, urban growth boundaries, and consistency with local
plans.
An act providing for effective growth management
by local governments, authorizing impact taxes by local governments engaging
in effective growth management, providing for the acquisition by local
governments of interests in land for conservation purposes; and allowing
property subject to conservation management agreements to be taxed at its
present-use value.
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/html1999/bills/house/hbil1468.full.html
Environmental Policy Act of 1971 (1971, c.
1203, s. 1; 1991, c.
431, s. 1.)
The purposes of this Article are:
-
To declare a State policy which will encourage the
wise, productive, and beneficial use of the natural resources of the State
without damage to the environment.
-
Maintain a healthy and pleasant environment.
-
Preserve the natural beauty of the State.
-
To encourage an educational program which will create
a public awareness of our environment and its related programs.
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To require agencies of the State to consider and
report upon environmental aspects and consequences of their actions involving
the expenditure of public moneys or use of public land; and to provide
means to implement these purposes.
Administrative
Actions:
Coastal Buffers Directive
In November 1999, the Coastal Resources Commission
adopted a rule requiring structures to be built at least 30 feet from the
water on coastal waterfront property. Buffers help water quality by filtering
pollutants and nutrients from runoff. They also help protect houses and
other structures against flooding. The rule applies to property along rivers,
streams, sounds, marshes and other navigable waters in the 20 coastal counties.
www.state.nc.us/denr
Conservation Easements on Swine Operations
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR) recently announced it has begun accepting offers from pork producers
with operations in the 100-year floodplain who are interested in selling
their permit to operate a feedlot. The solicitation is part of DENR’s Program
to Acquire Conservation Easements on Swine Operations within the 100-year
Floodplain, a program funded through a $5.7 million grant from the Clean
Water Management Trust Fund. www.state.nc.us/denr
Gov Hunt's Initiative for 1 million acres saved
North Carolina’s economic vitality is encouraging
unprecedented growth –
another 2 million people will be added to the
state’s current population of 7.6 million by 2020. Our state needs a green
infrastructure of protected open space and farmland to complement this
growth and development and to maintain our high quality of life. Therefore,
Governor Hunt has challenged North Carolina to add one million acres to
North Carolina’s current assemblage of permanently conserved open space
and farmland by the end of the year 2009.
For more information, please go to http://www.enr.state.nc.us/summary.pdf
Smart
Growth North Carolina Commission
The commission was created in 1999 to study North
Carolina's explosive growth and issue periodic reports.
21st
Century Communities Task Force
The Task Force, which has already held 13 public
hearings by 1999, is attempting to build a public concensus and plan of
action regarding North Carolina's urban and rural future.
Reports:
The Center
on Urban and Metropolitan Policy at the Brookings Institute released
"Adding
it
up:
Growth Trends and Policies in North Carolina" summarizing the growth
trends in North
Carolina. The report concludes that the state
needs to grow differently, in a more compact
and balanced fashion. The report offers eight
policy options that can put North Carolina on
a different growth path, and detailed suggestions
for future research that can help all North
Carolinians make the link between public policies
and development.
Media:
"Why cities need farms; And, conversely, why
farms need cities," The Charlotte Observer.
May 5, 2001.
"The 10-year spread: 2000 census shows suburban
sprawl continuing across the Triangle,"
News and
Observer. April 30, 2001.
"N.C. falling short on land preservation," The
Charlotte Observer. March 21, 2001.
"THE MILLION ACRE INITIATIVE: BUILDING BROAD-BASED
SUPPORT FOR A LONG-TERM EFFORT." The Ashville Citizen-Times. Editorial.
December 28, 2000.
"Rezoning votes test support for `smart growth'
policies." Charlotte
Observer. January 26, 2001.
Organizations:
North Carolina Sierra Club and North Carolina
Sierra Club's Challenge to Sprawl Campaign are reachable at:
112 S. Blount St., Raleigh, NC 27601
www.sierraclub-nc.org
Ph: 919-833-8467
Fax: 919-833-8460
North
Carolina Smart Growth Alliance
To bring North Carolinians together to inspire,
create and promote a shared vision of growth
which sustains and enriches the character of
our communities, the health of our environment,
and the strength of our economy. We accomplish
this mission through inclusion, education,
communication and consensus-building.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
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