Ernie Bass owns a sizable parcel of vacant land on the edge of Mayberry that fronts a major road.  He hunted and fished there for decades.  The Mayberry bypass was recently completed on the edge of the property and an … Read more

What percentage of North Carolina cities and towns rely on their counties for the collection of municipal property taxes? 60%? 80%? I don’t know the exact figure, but I’m certain it’s much closer to 100% than it is to 0%.  … Read more

I stumbled across a headline in the San Francisco Chronicle that read: Airbnb ‘furniture tax’ generates $120,000 for San Francisco. The article explains that the city requires hosts on Airbnb and other short-term rental sites to tally the contents of … Read more

North Carolina communities face the ongoing and complex challenge of the opioid epidemic. One tool for addressing the public health harms related to opioid use is the implementation of syringe exchange programs. Legalized in North Carolina in 2016, syringe exchange … Read more

By a unanimous vote in both chambers on Monday evening (October 15th), the General Assembly quickly approved and Governor Cooper signed legislation appropriating almost four hundred million dollars in disaster relief for communities and individuals impacted by Hurricane Florence.  The … Read more

It’s that time of year again. Leaves are falling and campaign signs are rising. Along with the signs come the questions about the laws and limits for regulating campaign signs. This can be a confusing topic because of the ruling … Read more

When the General Assembly enacted S.L. 2017-41 (H 630) in June 2017, it set several wheels in motion related to reform of the social services system (See legislation; SOG summary). Some of the ideas addressed in the reform conversation involve … Read more

Unless you are in desperate need of a sleep aid, I assume you don’t normally read law journals.  But my friend Tom Kelley from the UNC Law School and I just published an article in the UNC Law Review on … Read more

As communities begin the long recovery process in the wake of Hurricane Florence, many residents will need temporary housing. One challenge, though, is the zoning ordinance.  Most zoning ordinances strictly limit manufactured homes and recreational vehicles (RVs). As the Federal … Read more

Subdivision can make for knotty property tax problems. Here’s some help to untie them. Assume Billy BlueDevil owns Parcel A in Carolina County.  In February of 2018, he subdivides Parcel A into four subparcels, A1, A2, A3 and A4. Billy … Read more