*With special thanks to Kara Millonzi and Elsemarie Mullins As local governments wrestle with administering American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)-funded programs, the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) has prompted public records and confidentiality questions. To administer LIHWAP, state and … Read more

[UPDATES: June 2023: H347 is signed into law by Governor Cooper, authorizing on-line sports gambling to begin within 1 year and levying an 18% tax on gambling revenue. March 2023: a sports gambling bill was filed in the NC House … Read more

Conditional zoning is a popular development regulation tool used in North Carolina. Legislative conditional zoning was first used in the state in the 1990s, was approved by the courts in 2001, and was expressly authorized by the zoning statutes in … Read more

After site plan approval, the developer discovers a need to alter slightly the layout of the building. After a conditional zoning approval, the property owner decides to alter the parking layout to make better use of green space. And after … Read more

Several years ago the town council approved a major development. Part of the development is complete, but several phases remain. The developer wants to substantially alter the approved plans for the remaining phases. Can the developer change the original approval? … Read more

“We don’t want those people to move in here!” “A church may be okay, but not a mosque!” “We need condos, not apartments!” These are a few of the many statements that raise red flags in a zoning matter. In … Read more

An attorney who represents a department of social services (DSS) faces a variety of unique ethical challenges when it comes to client representation. Who is the attorney’s client? How should the attorney report malfeasance within the agency? A number of … Read more

For some time, under North Carolina law, violations of city and county ordinances have been treated as misdemeanors or infractions unless the ordinance explicitly said that they were not.  Starting in 2018, the General Assembly embarked on a project to … Read more

A property owner has requested for the local government to rezone her property to allow for significant new development. This could bring substantial new investments, business, and residents. But it could also change the character of the place, burden public … Read more

As the 2021 Legislative Session continues, one new session law that addresses child welfare, S.L. 2021-132, has raised a number of questions for county department of social services (“DSS”) directors and attorneys. This new session law has many elements related … Read more

Last year I wrote about the “assessment gap” that disadvantages poor and minority homeowners in many states, including North Carolina. Intrigued by that national study of the property tax appraisal process, I decided to learn if similar evidence of systemic … Read more

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) is a wide-ranging law that provides federal funding in areas ranging from child care to higher education to community service to relief for shuttered venues to a restaurant revitalization fund. Separate from … Read more

A property owner requested a rezoning. The town needs to adopt an update to the subdivision ordinance. The planning board has recommended an amendment to the comprehensive plan. What are the requirements for notice, hearing, and adoption of these amendments? … Read more

The North Carolina General Assembly, in legislation enacted this month, has sped up the process for disclosure of law enforcement recordings in cases of death or serious bodily injury.  The state’s body-worn camera law was in the national news this … Read more

As the United States has faced a new surge of COVID-19 cases, hospitals in North Carolina and other states are having to use mobile morgues to store bodies when on-site morgues reach capacity. Unfortunately, this means that it’s an appropriate … Read more

Suppose you own a vacant lot in town and you want to build a small, six-unit apartment building on the site. What standards apply? Who decides and how much discretion do they have? Do the neighbors get to weigh in? … Read more

What investments should our town make to lure new economic development? How can we improve housing options? How can we revitalize downtown? How do we preserve our agricultural lands and ensure property rights? How do we protect our community from … Read more

Update: On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued the Final Rule, which governs the eligible uses of Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (“SLFRF”) under the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”). The Final Rule makes … Read more

Update: On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued the Final Rule, which governs the eligible uses of Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (“SLFRF”) under the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”). The Final Rule makes … Read more

UPDATES (July 27, 2021): On Monday, July 26, Bloomberg Law reported on a July 6 U.S. Department of Justice memo that addressed whether public or private entities may require COVID-19 vaccinations while they are under emergency use authorizations. The memo … Read more