For the past several months, County Attorney Joe Connolly and the Board of Commissioners have suggested to concerned Buncombe County residents that it would be difficult and time-consuming to impose a temporary development moratorium.
Municipal development moratoriums have been legally and successfully used to deal with a variety of land-use concerns.

The issue is whether the elected officials are willing and able to impose a temporary moratorium on all mountain construction.

It is important to look at legal precedent: On April 23, 2002, the Supreme Court ruled in Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency that temporary moratoriums on construction were legitimate regulatory actions, affirming the power of governmental entities to control private property while environmental issues were studied and land-use regulations were reviewed.

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Original article in Mountain Xpress...