§153A-330. Subdivision regulation

A county may by ordinance regulate the subdivision of land within its territorial jurisdiction. If a county, pursuant to G.S. 153A-342, has adopted a zoning ordinance that applies only to one or more designated portions of its territorial jurisdiction, it may adopt subdivision regulations that apply only within the areas so zoned and need not regulate the subdivision of land in the rest of its jurisdiction. In addition to final plat approval, the ordinance may include provisions for review and approval of sketch plans and preliminary plats. The ordinance may provide for different review procedures for differing classes of subdivisions. The ordinance may be adopted as part of a unified development ordinance or as a separate subdivision ordinance. Decisions on approval or denial of preliminary or final plats may be made only on the basis of standards explicitly set forth in the subdivision or unified development ordinance. Whenever the ordinance includes criteria for decision that require application of judgment, those criteria must provide adequate guiding standards for the entity charged with plat approval.

(1959, c. 1007; 1965, c. 195; 1973, c. 822, s. 1; 2005-418, s. 2(b).)