The City Council will have to work with Raleigh to solve some of our most difficult issues and
fostering a relationship of collaboration will lead to better results for our fellow Charlotteans. It is the
responsibility of our City Council to be advocates for the people of Charlotte as a whole. Working
together we can strive to make our city an increasingly better place to live, work, and raise a family.
Housing & Zoning
As Charlotte grows it becomes a more desirable place to live, work, and raise a family. As the
city has grown we are faced with the all too common problem of a shortfall in available and affordable
housing. Construction often does not keep pace with demand and the results are increased housing
costs.
Better public land use policy and zoning will help make it easier for Charlotte to build and zone
for “missing middle” housing. Bonds and other taxes are often the only tools the city has used to
address the housing shortage. To this end the UDO (Unified Development Ordinance) has been a great
first step in consolidating our land use policy and laying out the rules in an equitable way. However,
this cannot be the end point and the city council must continue the work of liberalizing our zoning
ordinance and resist the temptation to backslide into old failed policies like the reintroduction of
exclusionary zoning. To this end, the following statement from the Obama White House in 2016 rings
truer than ever,
“Over the past three decades, local barriers to housing development have intensified,
particularly in high-growth metropolitan areas increasingly fueling the national economy. The
accumulation of such barriers – including zoning, other land use regulations, and lengthy development
approval processes – have reduced the ability of many housing markets to respond to growing demand.
The growing severity of under-supplied housing markets ins jeopardizing housing affordability for
working families, increasing income inequality by reducing less-skilled workers’ access to high-wage
labor markets, and stifling GDP growth by driving labor migration away from the most productive
regions. By modernizing their approaches to housing development regulation, state and localities can
restrain unchecked housing cost growth , protect homeowners, and strengthen their economies.”
Transportation
A reliable and robust public transit system is a must have for our city to grow and prosper. A
connected city is a goal within reach, but only if bad public policy is replaced with good. Ours is a fast
paced world and every moment is precious. If you are stuck in traffic congestion or waiting a long time
for the next bus, you are not spending that valuable time at your destination. Infrastructure investment
is needed, and that includes more buses, more routes from residential areas to commercial areas, and
yes more roads too. This will take a collaborative and holistic approach to improve and renovate a
complex system with many moving parts and our city cannot continue with a single minded focus on a
few select solutions to this city wide issue.
Public Safety
Public safety and quality policing are important for everyone. We deserve insitutions that work
towards the common good and provide families, businesses, and communities with the security they
need to prosper. Working with Law Enforcement and Communities is a necessary step along that path.
Our public servants need to foster the building of trust between the police and the communities they
serve. The creation of a comprehensive neighborhood policing policy to align officers and their patrol
areas to better serve the public is something many other cities do. We can and should emulate those
successes in Charlotte. We owe it to ourselves, our neighbors, and the men and women who serve in
law enforcement.