From the earliest days of the American republic, the party in power has drawn election district lines to enhance its own electoral chances and minimize the chances of the opposing party.  The very term gerrymander comes from just such a … Read more

[UPDATE: Effective January 1, 2021, G.S. 160A-458.3 was moved to new Chapter 160D and the powers were made available to counties as well as municipalities. The new statute pertaining to downtown development projects is G.S. 160D-1315.] Downtowns across America are … Read more

The Machinery Act requires taxpayers to pay their bills in our “national currency,” meaning in money.  This provision allows tax offices to reject creative non-monetary payments offered by disgruntled taxpayers such the bushels of wheat sent via overnight mail to … Read more

Cities and counties routinely consider proposals to amend their zoning ordinances. Amendments vary from the rezoning of a single parcel of land to major rewrites of the whole ordinance. The decision of whether or not to make a particular amendment … Read more

North Carolina city and county governing board members have a duty to vote. The general voting statutes, G.S. 153A-44 (counties) and G.S. 160A-75 (cities), allow members to be excused from voting on matters involving their “own financial interest.” What if … Read more

During the 2017 legislative session lawmakers adopted Session Law 2017-10 (S131), a law addressing an array of regulatory topics, including local zoning and subdivision regulations.  With regard to subdivision regulations, Section 2.5 of S.L. 2017-10 adds one new category to … Read more