BONUS: Many have requested a link to WOTUS Presentation PPT. View it and the accompanying Abstract from last week’s Land Development Committee presentation by Ward Marotti from Spangler Environmental, who explained the(Waters of the United States) new rules.
On January 12, Union County Commissioners met to consider limiting minor subdivisions to those developments with four lots or less (down from 8). A reductive, and what could be interpreted as retaliatory, move to continue to take broad control of land development outcomes. Impact of this move increases the regulatory hoops small developers must jump through and complicates the process of submitting elements for approval. To view the discussion, watch here.
Copied from an editorial published by the Citizen Portal, we quote,
“Commissioners voiced particular concern about farmland loss and the cumulative effect of many small divisions. One commissioner said the agricultural advisory board considers eight lots “a little… high,” and several members signaled interest in studying a lower threshold. After discussion, a commissioner moved to direct staff to prepare a draft text amendment defining a major subdivision as four lots or more and to take the necessary steps for land-use-board review with the goal of a public hearing in February; the board voted to approve the motion.
”Staff emphasized exemptions that cannot be changed because they are statutory and noted that some process steps (for example TIA triggers or sunflower surveys tied to very large developments) are controlled by statute or external agencies.
”Next steps, per staff and the board: draft the ordinance text, send it to the land-use board for a recommendation (the land-use board meeting schedule provides a possible January review date) and file the required notices to schedule a February public hearing before the commissioners.”
Access the full agenda of the meeting.
My Take: We keep hearing from policymakers that farmland loss is an economic negative and the primary reason to stop growth. And yet in our experience, farmers are the ones advocating for fair use and sale of their property…and we don’t hear them dissenting. We only hear the County using it as another excuse to ignore the cries of work force employees, young people, and all potential homebuyers who are shut out of future homeownership because of lack of supply. Managing growth is prudent and results in better communities. Stopping growth hurts everyone including the taxpayers when their bills go up substantially in a few years because their leaders didn’t lead.
At the recent Home Builders Association of Greater Charlotte (HBAGC) 2026 Member Luncheon, speaker Danushka Nanayakkara-Skullington, AVP of Forecasting & Analysis from NAHB, provided a full spectrum forecast covering micro to macro issues. With detailed slides and narrative insight, she showcased areas all will be interested in reviewing. Such as where the country is still recovering from COVID’s economic impact, (We’re recovered, by the way.), and even dabbled into metrics around the kids at home, or the failure-to-launch groups. (Which we can speculate is fueled by lack of affordable housing.)
An event highly attended and anticipated, this data is timely, relevant, and touches on every discipline needed to approach your next development endeavor. Download the pdf of the presentation here.
My Take: I attended the meeting last week and was impressed with Danushka’s presentation. One stat that really hit home with me was that the effective rate of inflation over that last five years was 27.5%. Let that sink in. Simply put, that is unsustainable. There are several factors that affect this, but perhaps most importantly it comes down to making sure we have effective leadership at all levels of government. So, where do we find the solutions? Look in the mirror. Early voting begins February 12th and Primary Election Day is March 3rd.
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