Countywide zoning, which went into effect less than a year ago in Buncombe County, was determined to be invalid by the NC Court of Appeals. Though citizens spoke against zoning in droves, put huge signs on their lots saying “You zone, you gone,†and voted it down in a referendum not too long ago; three of five commissioners voted to make it legal.
Of course property rights and public opinion played no part in the reversal of a former ruling that upheld the commissioners’ decision. Attorney Albert Sneed, who defends the correct side in many prominent suits in the area, won the case partly because of a date nitnoid, and partially because over four hundred requests for personal spot zonings were granted without planning board approval.
