"Chapter 160D of the North Carolina General Statutes is the first major recodification and modernization of city and county development regulations since 1905. The endeavor was initiated by the Zoning and Land Use Section of the N.C. Bar Association in 2013 and emanated from the section's rewrite of the city and county board of adjustments statute earlier that year. This bill summary and its many footnotes are intended to help citizens and local governments understand and navigate these changes."--Page vii.

This report reviews the law and practice of zoning ordinance amendment in North Carolina. It summarizes the rules set by the legislature and courts for the process that local governments must follow and reports the results of a survey of how this process is applied by the state¿s cities and counties. Over five hundred North Carolina cities and counties have adopted zoning ordinances, which regulate many aspects of land use and development. For landowners, neighbors, and entire communities, zoning ordinances play a critical regulatory role in shaping the character of a community¿s development.

Inclusionary zoning ordinances encourage real estate developers to set aside a portion of new development for housing that is affordable to households in a certain income bracket. The variations among such ordinances are as numerous as the communities that have adopted them, because each one must be crafted with the particular needs of the community in mind. As a result, public officials, housing professionals, and concerned citizens face a dizzying array of options when developing an inclusionary zoning ordinance. This guide explains the major policy decisions associated with inclusionary zoning and provides the legal context for those decisions. It also provides examples of ordinance language from inclusionary zoning programs around the country - including recently enacted programs from North Carolina - to illustrate specific choices. The aim is to help with the task of developing or modifying an inclusionary zoning ordinance by translating policy decisions into a working ordinance. A free PDF download of the table of contents is available (https: //www.sog.unc.edu/publications/books/inclusionary-zoning-guide-ordinances-and-law /details).