Last month my blog concerned the way the term “subdivision” is defined in the North Carolina General Statutes for purposes of city and county land subdivision regulation. This month’s blog is a follow-up and concerns the four exceptions to the … Read more
When local governments wish to fund additional services for portions of their jurisdictions beyond those provided elsewhere, they can turn to special tax districts to raise the needed revenue. My finance expert colleague Kara Millonzi recently offered two excellent posts … Read more
Next Wednesday, June 1st, marks the official kick-off of the Atlantic hurricane season. Even as we brace for it, we need only look to the April 16th tornados in the piedmont and coastal plain to be reminded that disasters threaten … Read more
The General Assembly recently enacted S.L. 2011-72, which authorizes certain municipalities to establish one or more municipal service districts to fund costs related to the conversion of private residential streets to public streets, subject to several prerequisites and restrictions. The … Read more
A developer purchases land located outside the city limits and plans to construct a residential development. The area is not served by city or county utility systems, but the city will agree to extend water and sewer services to the … Read more
You are interested in starting a new land use on some property you own. Since you are not sure if the zoning allows that use, you ask the town zoning administrator if it would be permitted. You get a letter … Read more
As I detailed in a previous post, North Carolina counties are authorized to establish two different types of special tax districts to fund fire services in both their unincorporated and incorporated areas (subject to certain conditions and procedural requirements, of … Read more
UPDATE February 2017: In 2013 the United States Supreme Court, in effect, declared Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 unenforceable. Section 2 of the Act, as described below, remains a redistricting consideration, but Section 5 does not. … Read more
[Update: In 2013 the federal government issued new regulations concerning this issue. See this blog post for more details.] Remember those new federal regulations concerning the attachment and garnishment of bank accounts that contain exempt federal benefits? As I blogged earlier, the regulations took effect on … Read more