If Greensboro was the only city in North Carolina exempt from the NC zoning protest petition law, was Zack Matheny, who served on the city’s Zoning Commission from 2005 to 2007, against what every other city in North Carolina had, before he was for it?

The right to protest

 

Greensboro City Councilman Zack Matheny, however, worries about discouraging new developments. Although protest petitions haven't impeded growth in Charlotte or Raleigh, where they're used commonly, "Greensboro is not Charlotte and Raleigh. Greensboro is a different town," Matheny said.

 

 

Yet, if developers make a compelling case, they still can win City Council approval with a three-fourths vote. And the council should give more weight to the objections of many residents than to one or only a few.

 

 

Greensboro property owners are due the same right to petition state law allows residents of other cities.

 

Greensboro News and Record

Lead Editorial, March 2, 2008