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Supreme Court Construes Local Law to Allow “Availability” Fees to be Charged Against Developed Property and Undeveloped Property

Infrastructure fees are a common battleground between landowners/developers and local governments. The Supreme Court decided a case this week that counts as a “win” for the local governments, reversing a Court of Appeals...more

Site Plan Approval, Conditional Use Permits, and Statutory Vested Rights

Today, we take a look at the land use case Jubilee Carolina, LLC v. Town of Carolina Beach, decided October 15, 2019. In April 2017, the Town approved a site plan and conditional use permit that provided interconnectivity...more

Zoning Violation Sent to Landlord, Only, Nonetheless Started Tenant’s Appeal Clock

In Hancock v. City of Monroe, an unpublished opinion decided on November 19, 2019, the Court of Appeals considered whether a commercial tenant’s right to appeal a zoning notice of violation – an “NOV” – had run, where the...more

Findings of Fact In a Quasi-Judicial Land Use Proceeding, Question Mark (?)

An interesting “development” – so to speak – took place recently as to a quasi-judicial board’s obligations with regard to special and conditional use permits.  The case is PHG Asheville, LLC v. City of Asheville, No....more

What Can the Local Government Do About This Land Use Ordinance Violation?

We spend a lot of time in this space talking about land use ordinances. But what about the tools deployed in the event of a violation of those ordinances? State law provides that municipal and county governments may avail of...more

Grandfathering and Continuing Nonconformities in North Carolina

Last time, we introduced you to the concept of nonconformity laws in North Carolina. This time, we’ll spend some energy discussing the most common (and legally charged) aspect of nonconformity laws: how local laws restrict...more

A Primer on Zoning Nonconformities in North Carolina

Zoning laws, like any other laws, can change from time to time. What happens if your structure, lot, or use is permitted under an existing law, but the law changes in a way that your structure, lot, or use is suddenly no...more

Say My Name, Say My Name: Appealing Neighbors Must Name the Permit Applicant

A partner of mine in New York used to say, “Few things can’t be undone in litigation.” I didn’t agree. A recently-decided case, following on less-recently-decided authority, from the North Carolina Court of Appeals reveals...more

Alleging and Proving Standing to Challenge Rezoning

In the recently-decided Cherry Community Organization v. City of Charlotte, the North Carolina Court of Appeals determines that standing to bring a declaratory judgment action challenging a rezoning requires both allegations...more

The Pitfalls of Pithy Latin Phrases

Crack open any law dictionary worth its salt and you will find the Latin phrase “Qui Tacet Consentire Videtur” or “He who is silent appears to consent.” Do not be fooled – context matters – a pithy Latin phrase is not a...more

Hey, Man, I Started the Ruckus—You Can’t Leave me Behind

Anybody who practices land use law knows that it’s an arcane area with layers of local and state laws (and sometimes federal laws) baked into every proceeding. This is especially true for quasi-judicial zoning (QJZ)...more

Politics and Impartiality = Oil and Water

Sometimes, the simplest, local example teaches the deepest, global lesson – politics and impartiality do not mix. Under the blanketing fog of politics and internet delivered news, it’s easy to become confused and actually...more

Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood… and I took the Smooth, Safe Path

Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken is a great American poem about choices. In the poem, the fork where the two roads diverge provides no indication which path is the better path to travel. In life and law, sometimes the...more

10/28/2016  /  Trial de Novo , Zoning Laws

Quicksands and Cutting Edges of the Law: Do Municipal Utility Customers possess Due Process and Vested Rights to Continued...

Sometimes, I read a court’s opinion and put it aside because it is thought provoking beyond its facts and outcome. The case of United States Cold Storage, Inc. v. Town of Warsaw, __ N.C. App. ___, 784 S.E. 2d 575 (April 5,...more

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Discovering the origin of the aphorism that “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished” is difficult, but understanding its meaning is instantaneous. When doing a good act, do not expect a reward. In fact, the “reward” may be a...more

A Distinction without a Difference

On April 8, 2016, we posted a blog regarding the case of Quality Built Homes, Inc. v. Town of Carthage, ___N.C. App. ___, 766 S.E. 2d 897 (2015)(unpublished). In this case, the Court of Appeals had held that the Town of...more

Sometimes, Finding Justice is Subtle

Justice delayed is Justice denied is a favorite aphorism. Most times, the aphorism criticizes the deliberative process of our judicial system. But, in fact, the aphorism is broader - the mere passage of time - regardless of...more

No Doubting Thomases Allowed!

Expert appraisers have testified that the proposed development will not adversely affect values of properties adjacent to this new development. Nevertheless, the testimony does not seem right to you. You remember the Great...more

The Long and Short of Interpreting Land Use Regulations

State law in North Carolina authorized modern local zoning regulations in the 1920s. And perhaps, there is no more basic zoning term than “single family detached dwelling.” In a world of ever-increasing complexity of uses...more

Classic Private Property Rights and Public Coffers

In April 2014, we posted a blog discussing the North Carolina Supreme Court’s opinion in Beroth Oil v. NCDOT, 367 N.C. 33, 757 S.E. 2d 466 (2014). (See here) In that post, we compared high frequency stock market trading and...more

Drilling to the Essence of a Land Use Proceeding

What type of land use proceeding is this? Finding the correct answer to this question is critical to knowing your client’s rights and avoiding legal error. Like different sports, there are distinct types of land use...more

Supreme Court Rules Landowners Can Challenge Jurisdictional Determinations

On May 31, 2016, in a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court held in USACE v. Hawkes Co. that approved jurisdictional determinations (“JD”) are final actions which can be reviewed by the courts. Under the Clean Water Act a...more

The Problem of Wearing Two Caps Simultaneously Part II

Our theme is that nobody looks good wearing two caps simultaneously. In Part I, we discussed the breach of lease claim asserted by the Town of Beech Mountain (Town) as landlord against Genesis Wildlife Sanctuary (GWS) in...more

The Problem of Wearing Two Caps Simultaneously – Part I

A favorite teaching tactic in legal ethic courses is putting on and taking off different caps to illustrate the different roles lawyers play in various relationships. This “on again/off again” routine demonstrates that the...more

Searching for the Heart of the Doctrine of Vested Rights Part II

On July 7, 2015, we posted “Searching for the Heart of the Doctrine of Vested Rights.”(See here) In that post, we compared a Court of Appeals’ decision in a public school teachers’ vested rights case with a decision of the...more

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