Enacts GS 160D-403.1 to prohibit local governments reviewing development plans for commercial buildings submitted under the seal of licensed design professionals from placing additional requirements as a condition of issuing a certificate of occupancy unless otherwise required by an applicable code. Extends to local governments that contract with private engineering firms or architectural firms for development plan review.

Enacts GS 160D-407, establishing 12 requirements that apply to a local government's evaluation and approval of construction permits related to site construction and land use permitting. Includes (1) requiring all standards or requirements for issuance of a construction permit to be included in a written policy, standard procedure, or ordinance adopted or authorized by the governing body and available to the public, such as formal land-use maps, capital improvement plans, or fiscally constrained road improvements; (2) requiring the governing body to adopt, and make available to the public and publish on its website, a written policy, standard, procedure, or ordinance establishing or authorizing a department to establish a schedule (subject to board approval) that must be used by the department in reviewing permit applications, including a timeline to approve or deny a complete application, with exceptions permitted if noted in the required quarterly report to the governing board regarding schedule compliance; (3) authorizing a local government to establish an online permit application and review process and to require its use; and (4) requiring all local government development fees to be provided in a single fee schedule adopted as an ordinance on an annual basis after a public hearing meeting specified public comment requirements, and prohibiting a development fee ordinance from allowing for an automatic adjustment of a development fee absent a subsequent ordinance enactment by the local government.