UPDATE September 2013:  The North Carolina Department of Transportation has adopted rules and policies concerning the size, location, direction of traffic flow, and the construction of driveway connections into State Highway System roads.  In exercising this authority under G.S. 136-18(29), … Read more

UPDATE September 2013:  The 2013 legislation revising the board of adjustment statutes codifies the “self-created-hardship” standard for granting variances that is common in many ordinances.  S.L. 2013 – 126 provides that the hardship may not result from actions taken by … Read more

UPDATE September 2013:  The 2013 legislation revising the board of adjustment statutes affects the standards for granting variances.  S.L. 2013 – 126 repeals the reference to “practical difficulties” and provides that to grant a variance unnecessary hardship must result from … Read more

“Where do you go in this town to get a tat, to find someone who can sling some ink? I wanna find somebody like they have on L.A. Ink that can do some real work on me. You know, a … Read more

A shot across the bow of another ship at sea can provoke an international incident if the action is improperly interpreted, or the matter can be resolved quickly. But in either case a shot across the bow tends to get … Read more

Remember the permit extension legislation from last fall that was designed to give developers, lenders, and property owners a reprieve from all of those governmental permits expiring? You know, the legislation that suspended development permits from running during the period … Read more

UPDATE September 2013:  The 2013 law that revises the zoning board of adjustment statutes (S.L. 2013 – 126) affects appeals of certificate of appropriateness decisions of historic preservation commissions. Section 1 of the act adds G.S. 160A-388(b1)(9) to provide that … Read more

Suppose that a town council holds a public hearing on a proposal to rezone one of the last vacant tracts of land in the northwest area of town from a single-family residential district to a multi-family residential district. Suppose also … Read more

UPDATE September 2013:  In 2011 the General Assembly adopted legislation establishing standards for political signs within the right-of-way of NCDOT roads and highways, giving NCDOT the authority to enforce them.  The adopted statute (G.S. 136-32) does, however, allow municipalities to … Read more

The expansion of  a certain nonconforming junkyard and auto salvage yard violates the zoning ordinance, a condition that has existed for some time. Warnings have gone unheeded. The local government has sought to accommodate every promise made that the violator … Read more