NC Court of Appeals Strikes Down Another AFPO

  Relying largely on its previous decision in the Union County Land Owners case, the NC Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling of the trial court in striking down the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) in Cabarrus County. With financial assistance from the NAHB and NCHBA Legal Action Funds, this case was brought by the Cabarrus County BIA and three building companies. At issue was the validity of the APFO first adopted by Cabarrus County in 1998. The “voluntary mitigation payment” due under the APFO grew steadily from $500 per single-family residential unit to more than $8,600 per unit currently.
 
“This is another significant victory for our industry and the home buying public,” said Mike Carpenter, NCHBA Executive Vice President & General Counsel. “It is particularly satisfying because the Cabarrus APFO was the model that several other counties used to adopt their own APFO.” The Court of Appeals has now struck down school adequacy requirements and school impact fees in Durham County, Cabarrus County, Union County, and the Town of Cary. “These cases demonstrate the wisdom of the creation of the national and state legal action funds which have helped achieve these results,” Carpenter noted.