North Carolina § 106-741 - Record notice of proximity to farmlands.

§ 106-741. Record notice of proximity to farmlands.

All counties shall require that land records include some form of notice reasonably calculated to alert a person researching the title of a particular tract that such tract is located within one-half mile of the property line of any tract of land enrolled in a voluntary agricultural district. In no event shall the county or any of its officers, employees, or agents be held liable in damages for any misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance occurring in good faith in connection with the duties or obligations imposed by any ordinance adopted under subsection (a). In no event shall any cause of action arise out of the failure of a person researching the title of a particular tract to report to any person the proximity of the tract to a qualifying farm or voluntary agricultural district as defined in this Article. In no event shall any cause of action arise out of the failure of a person licensed under Chapters 93A or 93E of the General Statutes for failure to report to any person the proximity of a tract to a qualifying farm or voluntary agricultural district as defined in this Article. History (1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 1025, s. 1; 2005-390, s. 3; 2018-113, s. 9; 2021-78, s. 1.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2018-113 provides in its preamble: "Whereas, frivolous nuisance lawsuits threaten the very existence of farming in North Carolina; and "Whereas, in response to the long-standing threat to agriculture, in 1979 the General Assembly enacted the State's first effort to statutorily protect the ability of farms and forestry operations to continue to operate as surrounding development encroached; and "Whereas, following the 1979 enactment, at least three succeeding General Assemblies in 1992, 2013, and 2017 tried to perfect a statutory framework that broadly fosters a cooperative relationship between farms and forestry operations and their neighbors across North Carolina; and "Whereas, recently a federal trial court incorrectly and narrowly interpreted the North Carolina Right to Farm Act in a way that contradicts the intent of the General Assembly and effectively renders the Act toothless in offering meaningful protection to long-established North Carolina farms and forestry operations; and "Whereas, regrettably, the General Assembly is again forced to make plain its intent that existing farms and forestry operations in North Carolina that are operating in good faith be shielded from nuisance lawsuits filed long after the operations become established; Now, therefore," Sessions Laws 2018-113, s. 16(a), is a severability clause. Session Laws 2021-78, s. 14(a), is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2018-113, s. 9, effective June 27, 2018, substituted "All counties shall require that land" for "Any county that has a computerized land records system may require that such" in subsection (a); and added subsection (d). Session Laws 2021-78, s. 1, effective July 2, 2021, substituted "the property line of any tract of land enrolled in a voluntary agricultural district” for "a poultry, swine, or dairy qualifying farm or within 600 feet of any other qualifying farm or within one half mile of a voluntary agricultural district” in subsection (a).