My Internship With the Charlotte City Attorney’s Office
By Nya Tillery
During my time at the Charlotte City Attorney’s Office, I was primarily focused on land use, zoning, and planning. This involved attending city council meetings, zoning meetings, meetings with the planning department, and conducting research into matters such as whether you can pierce the corporate veil over a zoning violation, and if it was possible to limit corporate ownership over rental properties.
My favorite project to work on this summer was conducting research into voluntary agricultural districts (VADs). Almost every county in North Carolina has VADs. The goal of VADs is to protect farms within a certain geographical area. This means that lawsuits cannot be brought against the farms by neighbors for nuisances that may come along with agricultural activity, like noise or odor. Participation in the program is completely voluntary, and to participate, all an individual needs is to meet the requirements of a bona fide farm and apply with their local county planning department. The purpose of VADs is to encourage agriculture and foster good relationships between farms and residents nearby.
Mecklenburg County was one of nine counties that did not have VADs. This summer, the county wanted to change that. First, a presentation was given at a Huntersville town hall meeting, followed by a vote by the Huntersville Board of Commissioners to authorize the creation of VADs; however, Huntersville could not proceed with doing so unless the City of Charlotte had signed the memorandum of understanding between the city and the county. My supervisor was concerned with the consequences that having these bona fide farms in city limits could have, and if there would need to be any changes made to the city ordinance. I researched the MOUs of other cities and counties, and how the cities had made changes to their ordinances to include bona fide farms within city limits. For example, Raleigh changed their ordinance to include urban farms. Urban farms varied from backyard gardens to community gardens to even include some commercial gardens known as market gardens.
This research assignment was particularly interesting to me because of the case law that came with it. Some bona fide farms have something called “agritourism,” which is any activity carried out on a farm or ranch that allows members of the general public to view or enjoy rural activities for recreational, entertainment or educational purposes. This could include farming, ranching, historic, cultural, harvest-your-own activities, hunting, fishing, equestrian activities, or natural activities and attractions. Many of these cases defined what could be considered agritourism and what was not. Despite hunting being an agritourism activity, Jeffries v. Cnty. of Harnett, 817 S.E.2d 36 (N.C. App. 2018) stated that a firing range is not an agritourism activity because a firing range is not natural to the landlike animals that are hunted. Additionally, none of the risks that come with a firing range are “inherently agricultural.” Another interesting case was County of Durham v. Roberts, 551 S.E.2d 494 (N.C. App. 2001), where the N.C. Court of Appeals determined that breeding horses was an agritourism activity, but in Dev. Associates, Inc. v. Wake Cnty. Bd. of Adjustment, 269 S.E.2d 700 (N.C. App. 1980), the Court found that dog breeding and the operation of dog kennels were not farming activities because dogs were not classified as livestock.
This was my favorite research project because I had so much fun researching and learning about a topic I was very unfamiliar with. Before the project, I was unaware of what a voluntary agriculture district even was, and now I can tell you how to apply for a bona fide farm, what constitutes agritourism and how county activity can lead to a change in city ordinances.
While I learned a lot about VADs during my internship, I also learned a lot about how policy and local government work. While I was aware that the city attorney works with the city council, my experience taught me more about how that relationship functions. I was also unaware of the role that the community played in that relationship. I believed that the city attorney represented the city council when there was trouble, such as ADA issues in the city. Similarly with the community’s role, I knew that citizens were allowed to bring their complaints, but I did not know how the city handled them and the role that the city attorney’s office had in assisting in such matters. Attending city council meetings, I observed as the community brought their concerns over matters to the council, and then after meetings, city council members would bring these issues to attorneys in the office and ask what legally can be done about the matters. It was like an assembly line: the community lived and felt the issue and brought it to the council members, and the council members listened and asked the attorneys for possible legal solutions. Then it was the duty of the attorneys to conduct research into the matter and see if, under the state legislation, a remedy for the matter could be provided. In the moment, you’re not aware of what is happening, but when I took a step back, I realized I was watching public service in action.
When I first went to law school, I was unsure of what I wanted to do, but I knew that whatever it was, I wanted to work in a way that I could help people and serve the public. When you think of public service and law, the first jobs that always get mentioned are public defender or prosecutor. This internship exposed me to a type of public service where you deal with both law and public policy. This internship has furthered my desire to work in government because it is the perfect combination of public service, law and policy. There are a few jobs where you get to interact with all three at the same time. Areas of law such as this often go unmentioned, and students are unaware of legal jobs working with municipalities.
My advice to other students interested in pursuing careers in government or the public service field is to thoroughly do your research. In law school, zoning was such a small part of what we learned that it can easily be lost how big an impact zoning has on the community and the lives of others. My internship exposed me to the role that local government plays in our day-to-day life and the close impact it has on the community. Not only did it make me more aware of what local government does, but it has also made me more aware of what is going on in my community, such as who my city council representative is and what initiatives she supports. Everyone focuses on the state and federal government, but many overlook the local government that has a direct impact on their lives.
If there is any big takeaway from my summer experience, it is that a legal career in local government is definitely where I hope to be someday. My goal is to help my community and use my education to assist with matters of law and policy, and local government is the perfect place to do that.