SB 137

Amends GS 160D-601(d), as amended by Section 3K.1 of SL 2024-57, as follows. Allows down-zoning amendments to be initiated by a local government for the purpose of farmland conservation without the written consent of all property owners whose property is the subject of the amendment. Removes prohibition on enacting such amendments without the written consent of the property owners whose property owners are subject to the amendment, but specifies that such amendments cannot be initiated or enforced without such written consent. Narrows the list of what is considered down-zoning under the statute by removing a zoning ordinance that affects an area of land by creating any type of nonconformity on land not in a residential zoning district, including a nonconforming use, nonconforming lot, nonconforming structure, nonconforming improvement, or nonconforming site element. Applicable only to Henderson County and the portions of the Town of Fletcher, the Town of Mills River, the Village of Flat Rock, the Town of Laurel Park, and the City of Saluda that are located in Henderson County. Effective when the act becomes law and applies retroactively to January 31, 2025.