A Blog About North Carolina Land Use and Zoning Law
The zoning protest petition is the greatest unchecked power ever placed in the hands of an unelected citizen in North Carolina. It’s past time we repealed the statute.
North Carolina’s protest petition statute (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160A-385) grants an anomalous and unjustifiable power to a citizen who owns a mere 5% of a 100…
It appears that my previous post (Protest Petitions Killed . . . Finally) was premature. The NC House did vote overwhelmingly to repeal G.S. 160A-385 which grants unelected citizens a unique power to control the decision-making authority of a city council engaged in routine rezonings.
However, the Senate refused to accept this amendment (called a…
In an unexpected move the NC House voted last Thursday to repeal the statute that allows citizens to file protest petitions which frustrate a city’s ability to rezone land except upon a favorable 75 percent majority vote. The decision saw little debate, and the N.C. League of Municipalities, whose members were evenly split on the…
A few days ago I commented upon North Carolina’s woefully inadequate protest petition statute and how the Town of Jamestown had to figure out whether protest petitions were valid (or not). I received several replies, some offering further commentary and others with questions.
In response to one of the comments I offered this reply: “I’m…
3-D technology in movies – and now TV – certainly enhances the visual experience, especially in cinematic phenomena like Avatar. But is there a 3-D element to a rezoning protest petition? I don’t think there is, and you’re thinking “what’s he talking about??”
Let me explain.
North Carolina allows property owners within a rezoning tract’s…
