Yet another Court of Appeals case, Ecoplexus v. Currituck County, examined the denial of a solar farm and applied the same principles as in Dellinger v. Lincoln County and Innovative 55 v. Robeson County, but with some interesting twists.
Facts
NC Legal Landscapes
A Blog About North Carolina Land Use and Zoning Law
NC Legal Landscapes, published by Fox Rothschild LLP, focuses on legal issues related to land use, zoning, and development in North Carolina. The blog covers topics such as zoning litigation, land use permits, conditional use permits, and the impact of local government decisions on property development. It also addresses legislative changes affecting public hearings, virtual meeting protocols, and the regulatory environment for industries like solar energy and industrial projects. The blog provides insights into the procedural and substantive challenges faced by developers, local governments, and communities in navigating land use law and policy.
Latest from NC Legal Landscapes - Page 2
Case Law Update – Spot Zoning, Consistency Statements, and Arbitrary Decisions
By Tom Terrell
The Court of Appeals recently reviewed three issues in a Randolph County rezoning: was the decision “spot zoning”? Was it arbitrary and capricious? And was it adopted with appropriate procedures? On spot zoning the law was slightly expanded. On the…
Legislative Update – Comprehensive Zoning Reform is Coming . . . I think!
By Tom Terrell
Tonight the State Senate voted 45-0 to approve Senate Bill 419, and I’m doing a rather undignified happy dance. Approval does not mean passage. The bill still must pass the House, but approval by the Senate means it is alive…
Case law Update – Are There Limits to a Zoning Administrator’s Authority?
By Tom Terrell
A recent N.C. Court of Appeals decision asked all the right questions about a zoning administrator’s authority to make discretionary decisions related to standing. And with one exception, found in the dissent, the Court gave all the right answers.
In…
Protest Petitions – Wrongful Power, Wrongfully Placed
By Tom Terrell
The zoning protest petition is the greatest unchecked power ever placed in the hands of an unelected citizen in North Carolina. It’s past time we repealed the statute.
North Carolina’s protest petition statute (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160A-385) grants an…
When Power Corrupts
By Tom Terrell
When a law partner poked his head into my office to give me the breaking news about Patrick Cannon, Charlotte’s newly-indicted mayor, my head told me that I should feel some degree of outrage, but my heart only felt sadness.…
Case Law Update – When a Zoning Board’s Decision Becomes Binding Legal Precedent
By Tom Terrell
A recent N.C. Court of Appeals decision expanded upon and clarified when a prior quasi-judicial decision is binding on future boards.
Disclosure: It was my privilege to have served as co-counsel at the board level and as lead litigation…
Case Law Update – When It Helps to Read the Statute
By Tom Terrell
Quasi-judicial proceedings are quite common in land use decisions. They are proceedings where the local board loosely follows the rules of the courtroom in order to determine if the applicant has presented sufficient evidence on which the board can make…
Will I die in a Mediocre City?
By Tom Terrell
Several years ago a Guilford County Commissioner told me, chuckling, that he had just heard Jim Melvin, Greensboro’s former mayor, defend some of his ideas for Greensboro’s downtown improvements by saying this: “I don’t want to die in a mediocre…
Case Law Update – Making the Case for a Cell Tower
By Tom Terrell
Just before Christmas the N.C. Court of Appeals issued an opinion that illustrates the necessity of presenting facts to support your case when the board is considering a special or conditional use permit. Opinions, speculations, conjectures and surmises, the Court…