§ 139-9. Adoption of land-use regulations.
§139‑9. Adoption of land‑use regulations.
The supervisors of anydistrict shall have authority to formulate regulations governing the use oflands within the district in the interest of conserving the soil and soilresources and preventing and controlling soil erosion. The supervisors mayconduct such public meetings and public hearings upon tentative regulations asmay be necessary to assist them in this work. The supervisors shall not haveauthority to enact such land‑use regulations into law until after theyshall have caused due notice to be given of their intention to conduct areferendum for submission of such regulations to the occupiers of lands lyingwithin the boundaries of the district for their indication of approval ordisapproval of such proposed regulations, and until after the supervisors haveconsidered the result of such referendum. The proposed regulations shall beembodied in a proposed ordinance. Copies of such proposed ordinance shall beavailable for the inspection of all eligible voters during the period betweenpublication of such notice and the date of the referendum. The notices of thereferendum shall recite the contents of such proposed ordinance, or shall statewhere copies of such proposed ordinance may be examined. The question shall besubmitted by ballots, upon which the words "For approval of proposedordinance number______, prescribing land‑use regulations for conservationof soil and prevention of erosion" and "Against approval of proposedordinance number______, prescribing land‑use regulations for conservationof soil and prevention of erosion" shall appear, with a square beforeeach proposition and a direction to insert an X mark in the square before oneor the other of said propositions as the voter may favor or oppose approval ofsuch proposed ordinance. The supervisors shall supervise such referendum, shallprescribe appropriate regulations, governing the conduct thereof, and shallpublish the result thereof. All occupiers of lands within the district shall beeligible to vote in such referendum. Only such land occupiers shall be eligibleto vote. No informalities in the conduct of such referendum or in any mattersrelating thereto shall invalidate said referendum or the result thereof ifnotice thereof shall have been given substantially as herein provided and saidreferendum shall have been fairly conducted.
The supervisors shall not haveauthority to enact such proposed ordinance into law unless at least two thirdsof the votes cast in such referendum shall have been cast for approval of thesaid proposed ordinance. The approval of the proposed ordinance by a two thirdsof the votes cast in such referendum shall not be deemed to require thesupervisors to enact such proposed ordinance into law. Land‑useregulations prescribed in ordinances adopted pursuant to the provisions of thissection by the supervisors of any district shall have the force and effect oflaw in the said district and shall be binding and obligatory upon all occupiersof lands within such district.
Any occupier of land withinsuch district may at any time file a petition with the supervisors asking thatany or all of land‑use regulations prescribed in any ordinance adopted bythe supervisors under the provisions of this section shall be amended, supplemented,or repealed. Land‑use regulations prescribed in any ordinance adoptedpursuant to the provisions of this section shall not be amended, supplemented,or repealed except in accordance with the procedure prescribed in this sectionfor adoption of land‑use regulations. Referenda on adoption, amendment,supplementation, or repeal of land‑ use regulations shall not be heldmore often than once in six months.
The regulations to be adoptedby the supervisors under the provisions of this section may include:
(1) Provisions requiringthe carrying out of necessary engineering operations, including theconstruction of terraces, terrace outlets, check dams, dikes, ponds, ditches,and other necessary structures.
(2) Provisions requiringobservance of particular methods of cultivation including contour cultivating,contour furrowing, lister furrowing, sowing, planting, strip cropping, seeding,and planting of lands to water‑conserving and erosion‑ preventingplants, trees and grasses, forestation, and reforestation.
(3) Specifications ofcropping programs and tillage practices to be observed.
(4) Provisions requiringthe retirement from cultivation of highly erosive areas or of areas on whicherosion may not be adequately controlled if cultivation is carried on.
(5) Provisions for suchother means, measures, operations, and programs as may assist conservation ofsoil resources and prevent or control soil erosion in the district, having dueregard to the legislative findings set forth in G.S. 139‑2.
The regulations shall beuniform, throughout the territory comprised within the district except that thesupervisors may classify the lands within the district with reference to suchfactors as soil type, degree of slope, degree of erosion threatened orexisting, cropping and tillage practices in use, and other relevant factors,and may provide regulations varying with the type or class of land affected,but uniform as to all lands within each class or type. Copies of land‑useregulations adopted under the provisions of this section shall be printed andmade available to all occupiers of lands lying within the district. (1937,c. 393, s. 9.)