Level 6 - Land Use Controls

Question 1

What are the four types of public land-use control?

Answer 1

• police power
• eminent domain
• taxation
• escheat

Question 2

What are the 4 main types of police power?

Answer 2

• zoning
• building codes
• subdivision regulations
• application of rules

Question 3

What are the 3 types of land-use control?

Answer 3

• public land use control
• government ownership of land
• private land use controls

Question 4

Building Code

Answer 4

a set of regulations pertaining to building design, materials, safety, sanitation and structure

Question 5

Certificate of Occupancy (CO)

Answer 5

legal document from a local authority that authorizes a building to be occupied; issued after the building has passed all required inspections

Question 6

Eminent Domain

Answer 6

the power of government to seize private property for public use; government must pay property owner just compensation for exercising power

Question 7

Escheat

Answer 7

the legal doctrine by which the decedent’s property will pass to the state without their consent if that individual dies without a will, a surviving spouse, lineal descendants or other known heirs.

Question 8

Flood Zones

Answer 8

geographic areas with a certain level of flood risk issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Question 9

Land-Use Control

Answer 9

regulations that specify how the owners of individual parcels of real estate in a given area may use property

Question 10

Laws of Descent and Distribution

Answer 10

a set of laws that sets our the process of passing an estate to heirs when the owner dies intestate

Question 11

Police Power

Answer 11

the government right to regulate and restrict land use in order to protect the public, right includes the power to enforce zoning and building codes.

Question 12

Probate

Answer 12

a process by which courts determine and grant the appropriate ownership interest of an estate to creditors. taxing entities, and heirs of an owner who dies intestate

Question 13

Soil Suitability Test

Answer 13

a test to determine whether a property will support a septic system; aka perc test

Question 14

Straight-piping

Answer 14

illegal sewage disposal system where wastewater is released from a home directly into streams or onto land due to lack of access to a sewage system or septic tank.

Question 15

Subdivision

Answer 15

in NC, all divisions of a tract or parcel of land into two or more lots, buildings sites or other divisions; for the purpose of sale or building development (whether immediate or future) and includes all division of land involving the dedication of a new street or a change in existing streets.

Question 16

Wetlands

Answer 16

land areas where groundwater is at or near the surface of the ground

Question 17

Zoning

Answer 17

the division of land within a jurisdiction into separate districts within which uses are permitted, prohibited or permitted with conditions.

Question 18

Aesthetic Zoning

Answer 18

requires that new buildings conform to specific types of architecture or appearance.

Question 19

Buffer Zone

Answer 19

an area of land that separates two different land uses

Question 20

Cluster Zoning

Answer 20

zoning which slightly reduces the sizes of individual lots and clusters the lots around varying street plans

Question 21

Density

Answer 21

the number of people living in a square mile of space

Question 22

Extra-territorial Jurisdictions (ETJs)

Answer 22

areas outside the incorporated limits but subject to the zoning restrictions of a municipality

Question 23

Historic Preservation Zoning

Answer 23

zoning to preserve the historic nature of a particular property or neighborhood

Question 24

Illegal Use

Answer 24

any property use which violates the zoning laws at the time it is put into place; aka illegal non-conforming use

Question 25

Nonconforming Use

Answer 25

any property use which is inconsistent with the land use controls for that area, regardless of legality.

Question 26

Overlay District

Answer 26

a type of zoning that is superimposed over another type of zoning.

Question 27

Special Use Permit

Answer 27

allows specific kinds of uses in a zone that aren’t the main use of that zone, as long as the property owner meets certain requirements; aka conditional-use permit.

Question 28

Spot Zoning

Answer 28

rezoning a small parcel of land for a use classification totally different from that of the surrounding area for the benefit of the owner of that property and to the detriment of other property owners.

Question 29

Variance

Answer 29

permission granted by the government so that property may be used in a manner not allowed by the current zoning

Question 30

Zoning Amendment

Answer 30

a modification that changes the zoning on a specific area which is made for the benefit of the community, or in accordance with a master plan.

Question 31

Restrictive Covenant

Answer 31

a limit on land use that is imposed by a property owner/

Question 32

Conveyance

Answer 32

an instrument that transfers a grantor’s interest in real property

Question 33

Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs)

Answer 33

private restrictions similar to deed restrictions that dictate what homeowner may do with their property.

Question 34

Deed Restriction

Answer 34

a provision in a deed that restricts the land use of a property

Question 35

Doctrine of Laches

Answer 35

a legal principle used to bar dated claims; used in conjunction with an unreasonable delay or negligence in asserting or defending one’s rights.