Land Use & Zoning

Spot zoning in North Carolina is generally considered:

AA best practice in land use planning

BIllegal or invalid because it arbitrarily singles out a parcel for different treatment✓ Correct

CRequired for mixed-use developments

DA type of variance

Explanation

Spot zoning—changing the zoning of a single parcel in a way inconsistent with the surrounding area and the master plan—is generally held to be arbitrary and invalid.

People Also Study

Key Terms to Know

Zoning

Local government regulations that control land use by dividing areas into zones specifying permitted uses, building sizes, and densities.

Variance

Official permission to use land in a way that does not conform to the applicable zoning ordinance, granted by a zoning board when strict enforcement would cause undue hardship.

Eminent Domain

The power of government to take private property for public use, with the requirement to pay the owner just compensation.

Adverse Possession

A doctrine by which a person can gain legal title to another's land by openly, continuously, and adversely occupying it for a statutory period.