2 For Tuesday | September 15, 2026

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#1 Staff Briefs Charlotte City Council on I-77, New Vote Set for September 21st

During last night’s Action Preview section of its regularly scheduled business meeting, the Charlotte City Council received a presentation from staff regarding the proposed I-77 enhancement project. Deputy City Manager Rebecca Hefner provided a historical timeline of the project and City Attorney Andrea Leslie-Fite discussed the impact of S.L. 2026-41 (NC State Budget Legislation). The statute includes language that “establishes new financial consequences for municipalities when an MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) takes a qualifying action to prevent a project from being delivered or funded as originally programmed after predevelopment has begun.”

Here’s a summary of what each councilmember had to say about it:

• Owens – “Every vote is a leap of faith.” She expressed frustration with the state, both the General Assembly as well as the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and wants specifics going forward as it relates to community benefits and feels as though trust has been lost and needs to be rebuilt as the process moves forward.
• Graham – “I don’t want to lose the airport.” He mentioned that he had met with several area mayors as well as many community members who still had concerns but felt that walking away could impact other important matters facing the council and that the relationship with the General Assembly and NCDOT needed to be attended to. He also expressed the sentiment that people needed to get out and vote in order to make a difference.
• Driggs – “Opponents have driven a hard bargain.” He echoed the theme that doing nothing was not an option and that through the process additional benefits were now available to the community that had not earlier been contemplated and that was a good thing. He also reminded council that if they walked away, it would likely be five to ten years before the project could be initiated again.
• Mayfield – She walked through the timeline once again and appeared to criticize Charlotte’s representative to the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO), Councilmember Driggs. When Mayor Harrington interjected that she was short on time, she repudiated the admonishment and continued with her remarks at which point she also criticized Governor Stein and indicated he was responsible for the actions of the NCDOT.
• Mazuera Arias – He expressed interest in relieving congestion and making I-77 safer for users but also criticized the state and mentioned the ongoing condition of distrust. He also expressed frustration that “local leaders continue to be pressured by corporate interests.”
• Johnson – She started her remarks by asking staff to conduct an online poll of the community to determine the level of support. She also said she had only heard from the business community and not from the residents. She also wanted to know what responsibility the state would have in enforcing community benefits associated with the project.
• Watlington – “The relationship with NCDOT and the legislature has soured.” She expressed concern that any community benefits would be nonbinding and that council should not make decisions based on fear. “Sometimes you need to flip the table. Go vote.”
• Mayo – “Eight of the eleven miles of highway run through District 3.” She felt that more information about the project had become available and that this could be an opportunity for her constituents who faced many connectivity challenges related to the highway. She wants to see Bus Rapid Transit incorporated into the project in a significant way as we should be making transportation investments that move people, not just automobiles.
• Anderson – “This is not a good place to be, and we should not be pointing fingers at colleagues.” She appreciated receiving feedback from some of the leaders on the West Side of Charlotte and wants to see community benefits codified in the contract. She expressed concern that council had lost some leverage by walking away from the table and that repaying the potential penalty instituted by the state could adversely affect the city’s bond rating which would impact other important work. She also reminded the gathering that she had grown up on the West Side and that pollution and congestion brought on by a low functioning highway was a problem for residents and getting back to the table could assist in providing a solution to those afflicted.
• Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell – “Trust has been lost.” He wants community benefits to be binding and additional funding to be considered for displacement for both owners and renters. “Doing nothing is not an option.”

I-77 Presentation to Charlotte City Council – September 14, 2026

Video of Charlotte City Council Meeting – September 14, 2026

 

My Take:  I’m not sure what else I have to add to this. It appears there may be a majority on council who would like to get back to the bargaining table which is a good thing. That’s all we’ve been asking all along. A crucial meeting and vote will take place next Monday, September 21st where council has the opportunity to do just that, continue the discussion. I would encourage anyone who has an interest in joining our effort to show up next Monday. It could be the last opportunity to revive the project. Otherwise, we’ll likely be waiting many years before a solution can even be considered.

And to reiterate, because I think we need to remember this, we’re not asking them to vote on the design, or the final parameters of the project. We’re asking for a vote to move forward. We need to quit inserting catastrophic thinking into something that Charlotte desperately needs and then make sure the execution is the best it can be.

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#2 Industry Unites to Launch ‘Let America Build’ Campaign to Address Housing Supply, Affordability.

New Public Awareness Campaign Unites Industry on Pro-Building Solutions Forward of 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Implementation.

Sharing snippets of the article from rismedia.com. Read the entire article here.

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From portal giants to brokerages, associations, lenders, nonprofits, industry media outlets and more, colleagues from across the real estate industry today came together to launch “Let America Build,” a national public awareness campaign grounded on a simple premise: If America wants more homes, America must build more homes.

Founding participants include: Realtor.com, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Veterans United, Habitat for Humanity, ICON, Land Use Labs, HomeServices of America, RISMedia, T3 Sixty, the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA), the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), Zillow, eXp Realty and NextHome.

According to a release detailing the new initiative, the purpose of the campaign—built on an original Realtor.com® campaign introduced at SXSW in 2025, where housing experts, policymakers and industry voices were brought together to focus national attention on the connection between housing supply and affordability—is to inform the public, elevate housing supply as a shared priority and encourage a fact-based conversation about the local actions that can make building more housing possible.

Now, Let America Build is evolving into an industry-wide public awareness campaign under LetAmericaBuild.org. The campaign does not endorse or oppose candidates, political parties or ballot measures.

“Let America Build brings industry stakeholders together with officials at every level of government to address the nation’s housing affordability crisis by removing inefficient zoning rules, unnecessary regulations, permitting delays and other barriers that keep builders from delivering more affordable, attainable homes,” said NAHB CEO Jim Tobin. “The campaign builds on the momentum of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act and advances practical solutions to help builders expand the nation’s housing supply.”

“Affordability and supply are the biggest issues facing our industry, and this fall we have a real chance to make them part of the national conversation,” said Jack Miller, president and CEO of T3 Sixty. “That’s why T3 Sixty is joining Let America Build—an industry-wide effort to raise awareness of the practical, local solutions that get more homes built. A stronger housing market is the foundation everyone in real estate builds on.”

Read more.

 

My Take: For years we’ve seen NAHB and other entities work separately to combat the esoteric discussions by city planners and electeds about increasing affordable housing but then are unwilling to thoughtfully resolve the regulatory, zoning, and permitting barriers getting in the way. We acknowledge that no solution is simple. But a joint effort certainly seems to be a natural next step. Read the whole article because you’re going to want to understand how to narrate around its implications as you approach your specific land development discipline.

The other issue we’ve tried to share is that in many cases, a free market can be the solution. We keep trying to force the hand of economics by artificially dictating exactly what kind of housing to build, and cherry picking where it should go. But that approach is tone deaf to a market crying out to be freed. And the words “Let America Build” is making an effort to do just that.

We hope this behemoth movement by a lot of very powerful entities, is able to amplify a voice that has needed to be louder.

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