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.
A word of warning: The inclination to waive some fees is understandable, but communities should be careful about cashflow, especially for utilities.
Building Code Shot Clocks. Section 4E.3 of the Disaster Recovery Act, Part II, provides some relief from building code shot clocks in areas impacted by Helene. Under current law, the local inspections department must complete residential plan review and commercial and multi-family permit review within specified time frames. Additionally, building inspections must be completed in a timely fashion. The recovery legislation allows a local government in the affected area to adopt a resolution providing that the inspections department cannot meet those timelines “due to the damage and disruption caused by Hurricane Helene.” With such a resolution “the local government may utilize and contract with a licensed professional engineer or licensed architect certified under G.S. 143-151.13(f) to perform independent third-party plan review, inspections, or other work of the inspection department consistent with G.S. 143-151.13(b1).” Additionally, permit holders may still contract for third-party plan review under G.S. 160D-1110.1(e).
Temporary Certification for Retired Building Inspectors. Section 4E.2 of the Disaster Recovery Act, Part II, allows for retired building code officials to obtain a temporary certificate to help with recovery permitting and inspections. New G.S. 143-151.22 states that when the governor declares a state of emergency, the N.C. Code Officials Qualification Board may issue “temporary standard or limited certificates to retired qualified Code-enforcement officials to conduct Code enforcement in the emergency area, as defined in G.S. 166A-19.3, for the duration of the state of emergency.” The temporary standard or limited certificate expires at the end of the state of emergency or after 12 months, whichever is earlier. It may be renewed if the state of emergency goes beyond 12 months. Officials are exempt from continuing education requirements unless they have been on inactive or retired status for more than two years and have not been continuously employed by a local inspection department.
Funds to Support Local Government Capacity. Section 5.4 of the Disaster Recovery Act, Part II, designates funds to support local planning, permitting, and inspections. The Office of State Budget and Management will provide grants to the N.C. League of Municipalities, the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, and the N.C. Association of Regional Councils of Government specifically to “(i) provide technical assistance to units of local government in applying for federal financial aid, (ii) support planning and permitting assistance, and (iii) build capacity for building and trade inspectors.” The support is intended for local governments as well as education agencies and community colleges. The grants will prioritize counties with populations less than 250,000.
Mines for Storm Debris. Under Section 4C.10 of the Disaster Recovery Act, Part II, during a state of emergency, the Department of Environmental Quality may allow a permitted mine to be used to temporarily store storm-related debris without a permit modification. The legislation directly impacts DEQ authority, but may raise issues of local development regulations related to solid waste and landfills.
License Extensions for Adult Care Homes and Family Care Homes. Under Section 15.2 of the Disaster Recovery Act, Part I, (for provisional licenses) and under Section 4B.1 of the Disaster Recovery Act, Part II, (for initial licenses), the Department of Health and Human Services is authorized to extend provisional and initial licenses for adult care homes and family care homes located in the affected area if a home’s license was due to expire between September 25, 2024, and March 25, 2025. Extensions may be up to 60 days for provisional licenses and up to 90 days for initial licenses. If local development permits are tied to state-issued licenses, then local permits may be impacted.
The General Assembly may pass additional legislation related to recovery from Hurricane Helene. For more information about recovery, visit the School of Government’s Hurricane Helene Resources page.
