The Overview

If you live in Mills River, the new zoning rules your town council approved in June will never take effect. North Carolina lawmakers voided them through Senate Bill 1074, which became law July 2. The same law shields a Duke Energy property in Eden from annexation and rewrites a sales tax proposal in Guilford County. ​

On June 11, the Mills River Town Council voted 4-1 to adopt a unified development ordinance, a single rewrite of the town’s zoning and building rules, along with new zoning maps that were set to take effect Sept. 1. The town says its current rules date to its 2003 founding and are inconsistent and hard to use. It has hired a consultant to revise the ordinance to fit state law, according to the town’s ordinance page, and a public hearing on the new version was set for Oct. 22.

What the Law Does

The law voids any development ordinance Mills River adopted between June 30, 2025, and July 1, 2026. It also repeals a 2025 state exemption that had let the town adopt its ordinance despite a state limit on tightening zoning. Any new rules must now follow the state’s ban on downzoning, which the town says bars it from rezoning land to allow fewer homes or fewer uses.

Eden can agree not to annex Duke Energy’s Dan River Plant Property, about 380 acres, against the company’s will through June 30, 2030. In return, Duke Energy would pay the city $1 million in five yearly payments of $200,000.

In Guilford County, the law rewrites the ballot question for a proposed quarter-cent sales tax so it spells out how the money would be split. The shares are 70% for teacher pay supplements, 18% for fire protection, 8% for Guilford Technical Community College and 4% for qualifying towns. Summerfield’s share must go to its fire district until that total reaches $3 million.

Legislative Status

Sen. Phil Berger (R-Eden) sponsored the bill. It started as an Eden-only measure, and a Senate committee added the Mills River and Guilford County sections on June 4. The Senate passed it 40-0 on June 11, and the House passed it 106-7 on July 1, according to the FastDemocracy vote record.

The bill is a local bill, meaning it applies to fewer than 15 counties, so it went straight into law when the legislature ratified it July 2, without a signature from the governor. The town’s ordinance page notes that development applications completed by Oct. 21 can still be reviewed under the old rules.

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