A substitute version of the bill amending the 2022 law to adjust an urban growth area (UGA) based on the patterns of development has passed the Legislature and is headed to the Governor for signature.

SB 5834 makes the following changes:

• A fully planning county may, as part of its annual review of its comprehensive plan, review its designated UGAs and the patterns of development and densities permitted within each UGA.
• If the county determines the patterns of development have created pressure in areas that exceed the available and developable lands within the UGA, the county may revise the UGA to accommodate identified patterns of development and future development pressure for the planning period if several statutory conditions are met.
• A county must engage in meaningful consultation with any federally recognized Indian tribe that may be potentially affected by the proposed urban growth area boundary revision.

Bill proposed to tweak process of UGA boundary adjustments

January 5, 2024

Sen. Shelly Short (R–Addy) has proposed a bill to make a small improvement to a 2022 law she sponsored which created a new method to move land in and out of urban growth areas (UGAs) when certain conditions are met. SB 5834 is intended to clarify that this mechanism may be used annually, not just during regularly scheduled comprehensive plan updates.

Please let us know if you have any thoughts on this proposal.

Dates to remember

SB 5834 is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Local Government Committee on Tuesday, January 9 at 8 am.