Two For Tuesday | September 26, 2023
1. Growth Management Working Group: “Mooresville Moratorium is a No Go.”
On April 10, 2023, the Mooresville Town Board established a working group for the purpose of evaluating and exploring the feasibility of implementing a development moratorium. At that time, the Town Board also directed staff to take the following actions:
- Begin a comprehensive review and update of the OneMooresville Plan.
- Begin a comprehensive review of the Unified Development Ordinance to ensure the standards are in alignment with the updated OneMooresville Plan.
- Design, bid, and construct a Traffic Management Center to operate and maintain NCDOT traffic signals.
- Evaluate the possibility of issuing transportation bonds.
- Review and revise the public hearing scheduling policy to ensure sufficient time to study and review all development projects and ensure no more than two public hearings are scheduled per meeting for development projects or annexation requests.
The working group has completed its assignment and its recommendations are as follows:
- Complete the update of the OneMooresville Plan and the UDO to better align future growth.
- As part of the OneMooresville Plan and the UDO, identify areas with adequate infrastructure and encourage development in those areas that are walkable and provide access to other multimodal transportation choices.
- Identify and investigate areas which are not possible to serve with existing town resources to determine if these areas qualify for a limited moratorium.
- When the housing study is complete, integrate the findings into the UDO and OneMooresville Plan with the goal of achieving an appropriate balance of housing options.
- Continue to investigate local transportation bonds and federal and state grant opportunities to improve intersections and other mobility options such as sidewalks, greenways, micro-transit, and expansion of the Mooresville Main bus system. Annexation decisions should include critical analysis of the ability to provide complete and adequate infrastructure and services such as school capacity, utilities, multimodal transportation, and public safety.
- All new development project decisions should include a review of by-right and previously approved developments to determine the total impact of the project on the surrounding area.
- Promote the implementation of the Traffic Management Center to manage current road infrastructure.
For additional information, please visit the Town of Mooresville’s Growth Management Working Group web page.
My take: This was not only the right outcome, it was an inevitable outcome when the working group was launched six months ago. Perhaps this group was put together for optics or other political reasons to which we are not privy. Either way, better energy would be spent on collaborating with the real estate industry and other key partners on improvements to the Plan and Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) while taking into consideration market realities and other important elements. Want to help? We invite YOU to get in a room with these leaders, roll up our sleeves, and get to work helping them move forward the right way.
2. State to Fund Union County Water and Sewer Needs
The recently passed North Carolina State Budget contains millions of dollars for Union County to make sorely needed improvements to its water and sewer systems. The final version contains the following funding allocations:
- Union County Water/Sewer – $26,000,000
- Waxhaw Greywater System – $1,500,000
- Wingate Water/Sewer System – $12,000,000
- Marshville Water/Sewer – $1,000,000
- Muddy Creek Water/Sewer – $11,000,000
These funds are significant and should assist in enabling the County and associated municipalities to meet its current and immediate future water/sewer infrastructure needs. The bill will become effective on October 2nd as Governor Cooper has announced his intention to let it become law without his signature. To view the State Budget in its entirety,
click this link.
My take: This is a big deal for current and future residents of Union County who have unfortunately been living under a County Commissioner led cabal with an over-arching anti-growth, anti-economic development agenda. Let’s hope this and other additional prodding from the leadership of the General Assembly pushes them in the direction of appropriately planning for future growth. Rob Nanfelt
Executive Director, REBIC
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