Zoning and Land Use Law Resources in the Law Library

UNC School of Law offers a course in the spring semester titled “Land Use Control” (Law 290) that covers the “authority for and basic structure of land use regulations (including zoning districts and permits, subdivision, and innovative development review schemes).” Students interested in real property and commercial transactions have found the course to be particularly practical in nature. The course is taught by UNC School of Government attorneys David Owens and Adam Lovelady, both of whom are experts in zoning and land use law. In the spirit of this course offering, this blog will highlight some of the land use law resources available through the UNC Law Library.

Zoning and land use law draws upon many foundational areas of law including administrative regulations and constitutional issues like due process and governmental takings, as well as specialized subtopics like environmental protections and historic preservation. The Law Library provides a wide variety of relevant resources for this area of practice. Following are some of the most frequently referenced:

Monographs

Land Use Law in North Carolina, Second Edition (KFN7858 .O92 2011) This is the primary resource for land use law in North Carolina and the textbook used in the aforementioned land use control course at UNC Law.

Land Subdivision Regulation in North Carolina (KFN7858 .L68 2016) This resource provides information about the legal framework and practical applications of land subdivision regulation in North Carolina. It is particularly useful for those interested in planning and urban development.

Introduction to Zoning and Development Regulation, Fourth Edition (KFN7858 .O949 2013) This resource offers a brief overview of the most important regulatory issues related to local government zoning.

Periodicals

Planning and Zoning Law Bulletin (KFN7858 .L47) This bulletin is periodically published and often summarizes newly passed state legislation related to zoning, planning, and development. Interested users can access past bulletins in print and access more recent bulletins in electronic PDF.

Coates’ Canons blog  The UNC School of Government maintains an active blog dedicated to legal issues affecting North Carolina counties and municipalities and other public agencies. Several posts deal with zoning and land use law. Users can search for land use control-related posts by keyword at the top right of the blog homepage. Additionally, users can view posts by author. For this area of the law, users should select the following authors: David Owens, Adam Lovelady, Richard Ducker, and Tyler Mulligan.

Special Reports

Reshaping Suburban Spaces: Lessons from North Carolina Cities This special report details a few real-world examples of suburban development in North Carolina, explaining how zoning and development inherently involve legal issues relating to finance, utilities, and transportation. This report was authored in collaboration with the Local Government Federal Credit Union.

Planning and Zoning for Solar in North Carolina  This report addresses the various zoning and planning considerations for solar energy technology and how local government ordinances can be updated to better manage solar development.

Inclusionary Zoning: A Guide to Ordinances and the Law Inclusionary zoning ordinances encourage participating developers to set aside a percentage of the units they build for housing that is affordable to households in a certain income bracket. This resource introduces the relatively new legal and policy initiative with examples of how some North Carolina localities have implemented such programs.