Thunder Pig

I swiped the front page of the Let Buncombe Vote webpage to pique your interest...[see bottom of post for previous coverage].

On March 17, 2009 the North Carolina Court of Appeals, by unanimous 3-0 opinion, ruled that Buncombe County had violated their own zoning rules and state law, and declared that the zoning ordinance enacted in May of 2007 to be invalid and of no effect.
The commissioners have spent over $500,000 over the last several years on their illegal zoning plan. We believe in this terrible economy with so many county residents suffering, Buncombe county citizens deserve the right to vote, which can happen at no cost to taxpayers, before the county wastes more money on this effort. This committee of Buncombe County residents is only asking for the opportunity to bring this matter before the people of this county and let us vote on an issue that affects us all.

History of Zoning in Buncombe County

Buncombe County did not exercise its zoning authority until the late 1970's. At that time, it exercised its authority to zone in only two Townships: Beaverdam and Limestone. This authority was not exercised until there had been a referendum in each Township. For 20 years the County Commissioners told County residents that there would be no zoning in Buncombe County unless a Township were to have a referendum in favor of zoning or a petition in favor of zoning that represented the majority of the landowners...Click Here to Read More

Zoning - An Overview

The concept of zoning was first conceived in Germany. When it came to the United States the idea was that you would divide communities into zones, one for industrial, one for commercial, one for residential to separate land uses. In the United States, the first zoning ordinances were attacked on the basis of unequal treatment under the law. In a case called Ambler Realty, an appeal was made to the Supreme Court contesting zoning ordinances for unequal treatment of landowners under the law. Under zoning, two property owners with two identical pieces of property that were both suitable for commercial or residential uses would find that one property owner was allowed to have the more valuable commercial use and another property owner was not. Despite the requirement of equal protection of the laws, the Supreme Court upheld zoning...Click Here to Read More

Here is a video I posted regarding zoning in Buncombe County featuring Attorney Albert Sneed:

Previously:

YAY! Buncombe County Zoning Overturned!!!

Stomper Video: BlackOut Rally and No Zoning

Media Bias in Portraying Those Opposed To Zoning

The Political Economy of Growth