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May 10, 2015 I Volume 9 I Issue 9 Zoning Bulletin <br />ing standards that could discourage agricultural operations or have stan- <br />dards for agricultural operations more stringent than state ones. Opponents <br />of the legislation argue that it hurts those counties "that protect their air and <br />water." <br />Source: The Rolla Daily News; www.therolladailynews.com <br />NEBRASKA <br />Pending in the state legislature is LB 106, the Livestock Operation and <br />Siting Expansion Act. Among other things, the bill seeks to "create an <br />environment friendly for livestock expansion and still maintain local <br />control for county zoning boards." <br />Source: Radio 570, WNAZ; http://wnax.com <br />NORTH CAROLINA <br />The state House recently gave "tentative approval" to a bill that would <br />"make it easier for developers or property owners to get land rezoned." <br />Under current law, if owners of 5% of the land within 100 feet of a prop- <br />erty file a legal petition objecting to a request to rezone it, the rezoning can- <br />not take place without approval from three-fourths of a city council. The <br />bill would remove the three-fourths majority requirement. <br />Source: Citizen Times; www.citizen-times.com <br />OHIO <br />Pending in both chambers of the state Legislature are bills that would <br />clarify agritourism uses in local zoning. Among other things, House Bill 80 <br />and Senate Bill 75 would clarify that agritourism land receive the same <br />zoning protections as agricultural land. <br />Source: The News -Herald; www.news-herald.com <br />VIRGINIA <br />A new state law (House Bill 1849), which goes into effect on July 1, <br />2015, "will make it easier for people to get variances from zoning rules to <br />make improvements to their properties." The new law changes the standard <br />for granting variances from when rules "result in unnecessary or unreason- <br />able hardship to the property owner" to when rules "unreasonably restrict <br />the utilization of the property." It also provides that a property owner is <br />entitled to a variance if the "strict application of the . . . ordinance would <br />unreasonably restrict" the owner's use of the property or if the variance <br />will "alleviate a hardship due to the physical condition related to the prop- <br />erty or improvements." <br />Source: Martinsville Bulletin; www.martinsvillebulletin.com <br />12 © 2015 Thomson Reuters <br />