Placing conditions on a conditional or special use permit approval.

The town council is holding a hearing on a special use permit application that would allow a small shopping center. The proposed site is on a major road and is adjacent to an existing residential neighborhood. At the hearing detailed information is presented on the traffic impacts of the project, including a required traffic impact analysis, testimony from the applicant’s traffic engineer, and information from town staff. This evidence suggests the project as submitted needs to be modified to add a turning lane on the fronting street and a new traffic signal at the adjoining side street. The applicant is agreeable to adding these as conditions for approval. However, a large and vocal group of neighborhood residents appear at the hearing and object to the potential for additional traffic that might use the adjacent residential street. They ask the council to add a condition that limits vehicular access to the site to a single entry from the main frontage road and to prohibit vehicular access to the site from the adjoining side streets. The applicant objects to this condition, saying his tenants demand at least two points of entry and egress from the site and that there is not enough frontage on the main road for that, thus necessitating access from the side street. The council is, however, sympathetic to the neighborhood concerns and imposes the condition. The applicant then sues to strike the condition limiting access from the side street. What condition is this condition in? Read more »

A Look at North Carolina’s Constitutional Public Purpose Requirement

In a post describing the recently enacted legislation that (potentially) authorizes North Carolina local governments to establish revolving loan funds or impose special assessments in order to finance energy efficiency improvements and distributed generation renewable energy sources permanently affixed to private property, I indicated that one (of many) complicating factors is determining whether or not such “energy financing” programs satisfy the public purpose clause of the North Carolina Constitution. As I stated in that post, I think there is a good argument that, at least under certain circumstances, such programs could satisfy this constitutional requirement. The analysis of this issue is fairly extensive and very dependent on the facts and circumstances surrounding a particular unit’s program, though. In this post, I describe the current, general framework for evaluating the application of this constitutional provision. Note that this framework applies to the expenditure of public funds for any activity, project, or purpose—thus, the analysis may provide a helpful review for public officials generally. Read more »

Board Members as Employees

The governing board of a small town believes that it would be advantageous to hire the mayor as a part-time town administrator. Is this legal? In some cases, it is. There are two main legal prohibitions that would generally bar a local government board member from being employed by his or her unit of government. There are two statutory provisions that create exceptions to these prohibitions. Read more »

Holding Over After Your Term Ends

UPDATE November 2013: The Court of Appeals opinion discussed in this post was reversed by the Supreme Court.  See this Coates Canon post:  Holding Over After Your Term Ends (revisited).  

North Carolina law permits officeholders to continue in office, in the right circumstances, even after their terms end.  But for how long do they hold over?  The answer to that question means a great deal of money for a former truck driver named Robert Baxter.

And, it appears, the answer may turn on whether the office is elective or appointive. Read more »

Powers of Mayors

Compared with many other states, North Carolina has created a very limited role for mayors. Our state laws leave many decisions about the management and operation of municipalities to the governing board, or, in jurisdictions operating in a council-manager form of government, to managers. Here’s a review of the basic authority the legislature gives mayors. Read more »

Do We Have to Hold Another Hearing on this Zoning Case?

The city council is holding a public hearing on a petition to rezone a parcel of land that fronts a highway leading into town. The owner has asked that the zoning be changed from a low-density residential district to a highway commercial district. The planning board recommended approval as the town’s plan calls for this area to gradually transition to commercial uses. No one appears at the hearing to object. However, a neighbor a hundred feet down the road appears and asks that her lot also be rezoned to highway commercial. One of the council members asks the planning director if it would be a good idea to go ahead and rezone all of the property along this entire stretch of road to highway commercial. The planning director states that it probably will be necessary to rezone all of the property along this portion of the road at some point. The council member notes that such a broader rezoning is consistent with town plans, is noncontroversial, and that doing it now would save everyone time and money. He therefore moves to include all of the property along this portion of the road in the proposed rezoning. There seems to be unanimous council support for the motion. Can the council immediately do this? Read more »

City Services to Split Lots

I’ve received three phone calls in recent months from cities wondering about their service responsibilities to properties that are bisected by the city’s boundary.  My answer is that it depends on where the house – or other building, for nonresidential properties – is located. Read more »