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S. 177
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senator Elliott
Document Path: l:\council\bills\nbd\11080ab07.doc
Introduced in the Senate on January 9, 2007
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry
Summary: Commercial Property Usage Act of 2007
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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12/13/2006 Senate Prefiled
12/13/2006 Senate Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry
1/9/2007 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-105
1/9/2007 Senate Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry
SJ-105
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND TITLE 31, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT, BY ADDING CHAPTER 20 SO AS TO ENACT THE "SOUTH CAROLINA COMMERCIAL PROPERTY USAGE ACT OF 2007", TO DEFINE "COMMERCIAL PROPERTY", "PERSON", "SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE IN USE" OR "SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE IN THE USE", AND TO LIMIT CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH A PROPERTY OWNER CAN BRING A NUISANCE ACTION FOR NOISE AGAINST THE OWNERS, TENANTS, OR OCCUPANTS OF A COMMERCIAL PROPERTY.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 31 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 31-20-10. This chapter may be cited as the 'South Carolina Commercial Property Usage Act of 2007'.
Section 31-20-20. As used in this chapter:
(1) 'Commercial property' means real estate zoned for business or industrial use.
(2) 'Person' means an individual, partnership, corporate entity, club, association, governmental entity, or other legal entity.
(3) 'Substantial change in use' or 'substantial change in the use' means that the current primary use of the commercial property no longer represents the activity previously engaged in on the commercial property.
Section 31-20-30. (A) Except as provided in this subsection, a person may not maintain a nuisance action for noise against the owners, tenants, or occupants of a commercial property located in the vicinity of that person's property if the commercial property was established as of the date the person acquired their property. If a substantial change in the use of the commercial property occurs after the person has acquired their property, the person may maintain a nuisance action if the action is initiated within three years from the beginning of the substantial change.
(B) The owner of property in the vicinity of a commercial property established after the person acquired the property may only maintain a nuisance action for noise against the owners, tenants, or occupants of a commercial property if initiated within five years after the commercial property was established or three years after a substantial change in use of the commercial property.
(C) If there has been no commercial activity at a commercial property for a period of three years, resumption of commercial activity on the commercial property is considered the establishment of a new commercial activity for the purposes of this section. The three-year period shall be tolled if commercial activity at the commercial property ceases due to legal action against the commercial property or its owners, tenants, or occupants.
Section 31-20-40. (A) A county, municipal, or state noise control ordinance, rule, or regulation may not require or be applied to a commercial property to limit or eliminate commercial activities that have occurred on a regular basis before January 1, 2001.
(B) A county, municipal, or state noise control ordinance, rule, or regulation may not be applied to a commercial property that was in compliance with a noise control ordinance as of the date of its establishment, provided no substantial change in the commercial property's use occurs subsequent to the commercial property's initial compliance.
(C) A county, municipal, or state noise control ordinance, rule, or regulation may not be applied to a commercial property that was in existence prior to the enactment of a noise ordinance, rule, or regulation provided no substantial change in the commercial property's use occurs.
Section 31-20-50. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter or the laws of this State, this chapter does not prohibit a local government from regulating the location and designation of a new commercial property after the effective date of this chapter."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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