North Carolina lawmakers introduce bill targeting parking lots
While the aim is to protect the environment, supporters of the bill also say it could help stimulate the economy as well.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — “We don’t have an affordable parking crisis in America. We have an affordable housing crisis in America,” says Ryan Carter.
Carter is a Catawba Riverkeeper – and he’s had enough of the sprawling parking lots littered across the Queen City and the Tar Heel State.
House Bill 369 – the Parking Lot Reform & Modernization Act – is legislation that Carter shaped with the help of a bipartisan group of state representatives. It’s mainly aimed at reforming – or even ridding us of – parking lot minimums.
“Everything, including square footage of commercial real estate, has a parking lot minimum associated with it,” Carter explains.
Essentially, if you build in North Carolina, whether it’s an apartment, an office, or a mall, you are mandated to provide parking to handle the maximum vehicle traffic it brings in. It’s a good idea in theory, but it leads to sprawling lots that go largely unused for most of the year.
And that creates a LOT of runoff.
“That is the top source of pollution in the state of North Carolina,” says Carter.
One inch of rain over one acre of concrete generates 27,000 gallons of run-off. All of that water – and the debris, dirt, and chemicals taken with it – go into storm drains and eventually end up in places like the Catawba River.
But runoff isn’t the only problem.
“We think [House Bill 369] is going to be one of the most critical bills for land use,” says Eric Zaverl with Sustain Charlotte. He says this proposal will help lower prices, too.
“It impacts business owners, especially small business owners and renters,” Zaverl explains, “A lot of apartments have to out in multi-million-dollar parking decks, and that charge and that money gets passed along to everybody who’s renting.”
It may also free up more space in the future to build housing – relieving some pressure in a red-hot real estate market.
“This really impacts so many facets of our life,” Carter beams.
“We’ve got a really golden opportunity to update our regulations, modernize them, and make some real big moves that are good for our environment, public health, affordable, housing, and the business sector as well.”
