Laserfiche WebLink
EDWIN H. FERGU$ON. JR. <br /> <br />JAME.~ E. ~CARBROUGH <br /> <br /> ATTORNEYS AT LAW <br /> <br /> B$-67 MCCACHERN BOULEVARD. SE <br /> <br /> P. O. BOX 444 <br /> <br />CONCORD. NORTH CAROLINA 28026-0444 <br /> <br />May 8, 1997 <br /> <br />Frank W. Clifton, County Manager <br />Jonathan Marshall, Planning Services-Director <br />Sue Bo Casper, Kenneth Mills, <br />Jeffery L. Barnhardt, <br />Dr. Franklin C. Niblock, Jr., <br />Carolyn Carpenter <br /> <br />Re: Moratorium on Residential Building Permits <br /> <br />Dear Sirs: <br /> <br />As attorney for the Cabarrus County ~omebuilders Association, I am <br />writing to inform you of the Association's legal objections to a <br />moratorium on residential building permits. While there are many <br />social, economic and political objections to such a moratorium, my <br />letter is limited to the legal objections. <br /> <br />Specifically, I want you to know that under state law the County <br />will be exposed to extraordinary liability for losses suffered by <br />lot owners as a result of a temporary moratorium on building <br />permits. I am sharing my legal arguments with you at this time in <br />the hope that both sides may avoid these losses. You will have <br />clear cut liability resulting from statutory law. <br /> <br />It is the public policy of the State of North Carolina to protect <br />the reasonable expectations of landowners from county zoning <br />actions which violate the vested rights of landowners. I quote at <br />length from North Carolina General Statute 153A-344.1 (a) : <br /> <br />The General Assembly finds and declares that it is necessary <br />and desirable, as a matter of public policy, to provide for <br />the establishment of certain vested rights in order to ensure <br />reasonable certainty, stability, and fairness in the land-use <br />planning process, secure the reasonable expectations of <br />landowners, and foster cooperation between the public and <br />private sectors in the area of land-use planning. <br />Furthermore, the General Assembly recognizes that county <br /> <br /> <br />