New Hanover Zoning Ridiculousness

StarNews:

New Hanover County is amending (Later in the article it says the county is 'looking at ways to amend,' so no, it doesn't seem to be currently happening) its planned development ordinance after local developers challenged the legality of its impact fees, particularly ones that required land or money for new schools.

[...]The planned development ordinance was designed to provide for demands that large 100-acre developments place on schools and fire services. According to the ordinance, a developer has to provide "adequate public elementary school facilities" by either donating land to the board of education or paying a fee equal to the tax on the market value of the land.

But developers argue that the ordinance forces them to not only foot the bill for the school, but also pay county taxes to support it.

[...]One of the latest developers to be impacted by the ordinance is Burrows Smith, who is developing River Bluffs in Castle Hayne. He was asked to pay $500,000 or provide land despite developing a retirement community, which probably wouldn't need an additional school.

[...]The county's planning department is looking at ways to amend the ordinance. A new planned development ordinance proposal will be sent to the planning board in the next few months, county officials said.

For more on my thoughts on zoning, see here.