Community Appearance Commissions In North Carolina

Community Appearance Commissions are relatively new in North Carolina. It was not until 1971 that the General Assembly provided enabling legislation which would allow communities to establish such commissions. Prior to 1971, one community -- Chapel Hill -- created a Community Appearance Commission through special legislation. This study examines a number of questions and attempts to reach some conclusions concerning a commission whose primary consideration is the subject area of aesthetics. The questions raised and to which some conclusions are reached include: what motivates a community to adopt a community appearance commission; what type of opposition will such a commission encounter in a community; and what form does such a commission take?