Two For Tuesday | July 16, 2024
1. Iredell County Planning Board Tables Development Density Limits, For Now
Iredell County Commissioners recently directed staff to initiate a
text amendment to its land development code that would have, among other things, limited density to
one unit per five-acre parcel in some parts of the county. The measure was drafted and presented to the Iredell County Planning Board during
last week’s meeting where it was considered and debated. Some board members expressed concern about the adverse impact this amendment could have on housing affordability. Ultimately, it was determined the proposal necessitated additional discussion and it was tabled for the time being. We will continue to weigh in as the measure receives future consideration.
My take: This is an incredibly naive and dangerous idea. For reasons too numerous to list here, this is a sure way to make taxes go through the roof. Why funnel development into a huge land-wasting, cost-prohibitive, trend-rejecting plan, and ignore the mountain of national data surrounding the cost to develop, sell, and build homes on mega-large lots? Is land free now in Iredell County? With this idea, infrastructure waste is palpable, and expending the extra road costs and utility needs for so few people is absurd. Who is the voice in their heads? – In case you missed it, 2024 is an election year – not just for federal and state offices, but for county commission seats as well. This proposal smacks of being politically driven, a short-sighted effort to win favor with those who have no business advising on this type of planning. Shame on these leaders for not doing their homework and for not exposing those who would stunt economic prosperity through by invoking their drawbridge mentality?
2. City of Gastonia Implements Microtransit Service
On July 1st, 2024, the City of Gastonia ended public bus operations for its residents and initiated the GoGastonia Microtransit service. This came about when the Gastonia City Council approved a 36-month contract with River North Transit, LLC to provide on-demand transit services to riders, who currently complete approximately 144,000 trips annually. This new delivery system will not displace ADA transportation services.
The City also determined that on-demand microtransit would better address its limited-service area, alleviate hour-long wait times, eliminate an aging fleet of buses, and provide better access to the majority of its users. In the past fiscal year, Gastonia Transit had been operating six fixed bus routes covering nearly 295,000 miles per year while providing service to over 144,000 passengers. The previous system was averaging only seven passengers per vehicle hour across all routes.
Want to learn more? Tomorrow, July 17th from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm at the Gastonia Career Center, 116 Armstrong Street, Gastonia, NC 28054, the City of Gastonia will be holding several information sessions about the new service. If interested in learning more, please sign up here.
My take: This looks to be a pretty innovative approach to provide transportation solutions to a fairly small universe of riders. This could serve as a decent test case for other communities who may want to implement similar options. It will be interesting to see if the increased amount of vehicles on the road (a metric I think I will ask about) will translate into any adverse traffic related experiences. Time will tell, but kudos go to local government leaders for trying something new. Change is hard. But change can be good.
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