Mayfield introduces bill to reinstate Woodfin’s ability to down-zone without unanimous owner approval

A bill recently introduced by State Sen. Julie Mayfield aims to give Woodfin back the power to initiate down-zoning actions without requiring agreement from every property owner, according to the North Carolina State Senate.

Filed on April 21 as SB 807 during the 2025 regular session, the legislation is officially listed as ‘Restore Down-Zoning Auth./Woodfin.’

Below is our summary, prepared using the bill text, which clarifies key aspects of the proposal.

This measure lets the Town of Woodfin start the down-zoning process without having written support from all involved property owners. It updates state policy so local officials in Woodfin may propose changes reducing density, restricting allowed uses, or increasing nonconformities in nonresidential areas. The updated regulation would apply specifically to Woodfin and would become effective retroactively to Dec. 11, 2024, reinstating ordinances amended by Section 3K.1 of S.L. 2024-57 as they were before that date.

During the 2025 regular session, Mayfield introduced a total of 29 additional bills.

Every North Carolina bill must complete a detailed process to become law. Legislation begins when a lawmaker files a bill, sending it to a committee for evaluation, and must be read in both chambers on three separate occasions. Both chambers must approve the same version; if revisions occur, consensus is required again. Approved bills move to the governor, who has 10 days to act, or 30 when the legislature is out of session. The governor can sign, veto, or allow the bill to become law without a signature.

Mayfield received a BA from Davidson College in 1989 and completed her JD at Emory University School of Law in 1996.

Voters elected Mayfield, a Democrat, to the North Carolina State Senate in 2021 as the representative for the 49th Senate district, succeeding former state senator Terry Van Duyn.