Abstract:
In October, 1979, the North Carolina Supreme Court handed down a decision on one of the most significant land-use planning cases in the State. Among the planning-law issues to be decided by the Court in A-S-P Associates versus Raleigh were the validity of historic district zoning, contextual standards for administrative issuance of permits, spot-zoning, validity of overlapping zoning districts, and the comprehensive-plan requirement. The decision represented a major victory for the historic preservation movement in the State, as North Carolina became the first southeastern state to affirm the constitutional validity of historic preservation.