Virtually all North Carolina cities and counties with zoning use special and conditional use permits to provide flexibility in zoning ordinances and to secure detailed reviews of individual applications. This publication first examines the law related to the standards applying to such permits and the process required to make decisions about applications. Based on a comprehensive survey of North Carolina cities and counties, it then discusses how cities and counties have exercised that power.

"Chapter 160D of the North Carolina General Statutes is the first major recodification and modernization of city and county development regulations since 1905. The endeavor was initiated by the Zoning and Land Use Section of the N.C. Bar Association in 2013 and emanated from the section's rewrite of the city and county board of adjustments statute earlier that year. This bill summary and its many footnotes are intended to help citizens and local governments understand and navigate these changes."--Page vii.

Examines the legal issues associated with government regulation of sexually oriented businesses. Addresses constitutional issues such as what type of sexually oriented activity can be banned entirely; zoning restrictions on the location of sexually oriented businesses--the type of restrictions most frequently used by local governments; how far the First Amendment allows local governments to go in restricting these businesses; what a local government must do to establish a proper legal foundation for its regulations; and the operational restrictions that can be imposed on sexually oriented businesses.