AG 2010 12 20 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

B. The municipalities of Mount Pleasant, Harrisburg, and Midland are local government bodies with a City Council -Mayor form of government. The city council is the decision - making body for each of these municipalities. An appointed municipal Planning and Zoning Board serves as an advisory body to the council on planning matters. Each of these municipalities has a small staff to carry out day -to -day administrative activities. Cabarrus County Government supports these three municipalities by providing services from the county's staff departments to provide services and conduct operations that the municipalities are not organized to perform. This is done through contracts between the county and the municipalities. None of these municipalities have planning, zoning or emergency management capabilities and the Cabarrus County Commerce Department and Emergency Management Department provide the support required, based on input from those local governments. V. Legal Capabilities of Local Governments in North Carolina A. Cabarrus County and the towns of Mount Pleasant, Harrisburg and Midland have a wide array of powers as a result of North Carolina legislation. These powers enable the County and the municipalities to adopt and implement policies and ordinances that may be used to mitigate the potential harmful effects of natural hazards. Below is a summary of the legal authority and powers that North Carolina has conferred on local governments within the state. These powers fall into four broad categories: regulation, acquisition, taxation, and spending. B. Regulation 1. General Police Power. Local governments in North Carolina have been granted broad regulatory powers in their jurisdictions. North Carolina General Statutes (NCGS) bestow the general police power on local governments, allowing them to enact and enforce ordinances which define, prohibit, regulate, or abate acts, omissions, or conditions detrimental to the health, safety, and welfare of the people, and to define and abate nuisances (including public health nuisances). Since hazard mitigation can be included under the police power (as protection of public health, safety and welfare), towns, cities, and counties may include requirements for hazard mitigation in local ordinances. Local governments may also use their ordinance - making power to abate "nuisances," which could include, by local definition, any activity or condition making people or property more vulnerable to any hazard (NCGS 160A Art. 8 (Delegation and Exercise of the General Police Power to Cities and Towns); 153A, Art. 6 (Delegation and Exercise of the General Police Power to Counties)). 2. Building Codes and Building Inspection. (a) Many structural mitigation measures involve constructing and retrofitting homes, businesses and other structures according to standards designed to make the buildings more resilient to the impacts of natural hazards. Many of these standards are imposed through the building code. Annex C County Capability Assessment C -2 December 2009 Attachment number 11 F -6 Page 138