GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

1987 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 243

SENATE BILL 425

 

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE PURPOSES OF THE STATE PARKS SYSTEM.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  Subchapter II of Chapter 113 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article 2C to read:

"Article 2C.

"State Parks Act.

"§ 113-44.7.  Short title.-This Article shall be known as the State Parks Act.

"§ 113-44.8.  Declaration of policy and purpose.-(a) The State of North Carolina offers unique archaeologic, geologic, biological, scenic, and recreational resources.  These resources are part of the heritage of the people of this State.  The heritage of a people should be preserved and managed by those people for their use and for the use of their visitors and descendants.

(b)       The General Assembly finds it appropriate to establish the State Parks System.  This system shall consist of parks which include representative examples of the resources sought to be preserved by this Article, together with such surrounding lands as may be appropriate.  Park lands are to be used by the people of this State and their visitors in order to promote understanding of and pride in the natural heritage of this State.

(c)       The tax dollars of the people of the State should be expended in an efficient and effective manner for the purpose of assuring that the State Parks System is adequate to accomplish the goals as defined in this Article.

(d)       The purpose of this Article is to establish methods and principles for the planned acquisition, development, and operation of State parks.

"§ 113-44.9.  Definitions.-As used in this Article, unless the context requires otherwise:

(1)       'Department' means the Department of Natural Resources and Community Development.

(2)       'Park' means any tract of land or body of water comprising part of the State Parks System under this Article, including existing State parks, State natural areas, State recreation areas, State trails, State rivers, and State lakes.

(3)       'Plan' means State Parks System Plan.

(4)       'Secretary' means the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Community Development.

(5)       'State Parks System' or 'system' mean all those lands and waters which comprise the parks system of the State as established under this Article.

"§ 113-44.10.  Powers of the Secretary.-The Secretary shall implement the provisions of this Article and shall be responsible for the administration of the State Parks System.

"§ 113-44.11.  Preparation of a System Plan.-(a) The Secretary shall prepare and adopt a State Parks System Plan by December 31, 1988.  The Plan, at a minimum, shall:

(1)       Outline a method whereby the mission and purposes of the State Parks System as defined in G.S. 113-44.8 can be achieved in a reasonable, timely, and cost-effective manner;

(2)       Evaluate existing parks against these standards to determine their statewide significance;

(3)       Identify duplications and deficiencies in the current State Parks System and make recommendations for correction;

(4)       Describe the resources of the existing State Parks System and their current uses, identify conflicts created by those uses, and propose solutions to them; and

(5)       Describe anticipated trends in usage of the State Parks System, detail what impacts these trends may have on the State Parks System, and recommend means and methods to accommodate those trends successfully.

(b)       The Plan shall be developed with full public participation, including a series of public meetings held on adequate notice under rules which shall be adopted by the Secretary.  The purpose of the public meetings and other public participation shall be to obtain from the public:

(1)       Views and information on the needs of the public for recreational resources in the State Parks System;

(2)       Views and information on the manner in which these needs should be addressed;

(3)       Review of the draft plan prepared by the Secretary before he adopts the Plan.

(c)       The Secretary shall revise the Plan at intervals not exceeding five years.  Revisions to the Plan shall be made consistent with and under the rules providing public participation in adoption of the Plan.

"§  113-44.12.  Classification of parks resources.-After adopting the Plan, the Secretary shall identify and classify the major resources of each of the parks in the State Parks System, in order to establish the major purpose or purposes of each of the parks, consistent with the Plan and the purposes of this Article.

"§  113-44.13.  General management plans.-Every park classified pursuant to G.S. 113-44.12 shall have a general management plan.  The plan shall include a statement of purpose for the park based upon its relationship to the System Plan and its classification.  An analysis of the major resources and facilities on hand to achieve those purposes shall be completed along with a statement of management direction.  The general management plan shall be revised as necessary to comply with the System Plan and to achieve the purposes of this Article.

"§ 113-44.14.  Additions to and deletions from the State Parks System.-(a) If, in the course of implementing G.S. 113-44.12 the Secretary determines that the major purposes of a park are not consistent with the purposes of this Article and the Plan, the Secretary may propose to the General Assembly the deletion of that park from the State Parks System.  On a majority vote of each house of the General Assembly, the General Assembly may remove the park from the State Parks System.  No other agency or governmental body of the State shall have the power to remove a park or any part from the State Parks System.

(b)       New parks shall be added to the State Parks System by the Department after authorization by the General Assembly.  Each additional park shall be authorized only by an act of the General Assembly.  Additions shall be consistent with and shall address the needs of the State Parks System as described in the Plan.  All additions shall be accompanied by adequate authorization and appropriations for land acquisition, development, and operations."

Sec. 2.  This act is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 2nd day of June, 1987.