Waxhaw’s Budget Hostage Crisis
At Tuesday night’s Waxhaw Board of Commissioners meeting, something deeply cynical happened—something every taxpayer should know about. Our Town’s finances were held hostage by a desperate political majority. Commissioner Susanna Wedra and I (Commissioner Richard Daunt) stood united for a revenue-neutral tax rate of 26.2 cents for the 2025–2026 budget. That’s the rate that keeps…
One Sentence. One Fix. Pass HB24
Time Is Running Out: Restore Local Zoning Control Before the Legislature Adjourns House Bill 24 would reverse the SB 382 damaging ban on downzoning — but it’s stuck in committee with only three days left. Click here to skip to the call to action with email lists and sample emails. In 2024, Senate Bill 382…
When Legislators Prostitute Themselves to Special Interests
North Carolina Senate Bill 382 began as a disaster relief bill, a widely supported and necessary measure to help our State recover from Hurricane Helene. But in a stunning act of political deceit, a last-minute provision was quietly slipped in to strip local governments of their zoning authority. This bait-and-switch tactic, buried inside an emergency relief bill, is…
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Death by a Thousand Bills
Sick of hearing about the latest attack on local control by our state legislators? So am I – but here’s another one from our out-of-control government in Raleigh. North Carolina House Bill 661, just today rammed through its final House vote, is a dangerous giveaway to developers and industry—at the direct expense of towns, taxpayers,…
SB 205: The Pool Bill That Drowns Local Control
Legislation that started as a bill to deregulate private swimming pools is now being used as a trojan horse to continue the attack on local government that was exacerbated by HB 765. SB 205 doesn’t just tweak pool rules. It amends Chapter 160D — the same statutes HB 765 targeted — to prohibit local governments from adopting zoning,…
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Waxhaw Budget Download
Transparency and accessibility are essential—especially when it comes to how your tax dollars are being spent. With the June 10th public hearing on the proposed FY 2025–2026 town budget approaching, I’ve taken the time to configure a simplified, filterable version of the full budget spreadsheet. This version removes unnecessary formatting and clutter, making it much…
Our Youth Step Up
Last night at the Waxhaw Town Hall, some quiet but powerful moments unfolded that should give every Union County resident a renewed sense of hope. At the latest meeting of the Western Union Municipal Alliance, two young citizens—Ella Adams of Mineral Springs and Joel Down of Wesley Chapel—stood up to speak to state Representatives David…
Raleigh’s Land Grab
Since our initial discussion of House Bill 765 (HB 765) in April, the legislation has undergone revisions. While some controversial provisions have been removed, the bill still poses significant challenges to local governance, particularly for towns like Waxhaw. North Carolina House Bill 765 — misleadingly titled the “Save the American Dream Act” — is one…
State Reps in Waxhaw
On Thursday, May 22, 2025, at 7:00 PM, the Western Union Municipal Alliance (WUMA) will hold its monthly meeting at Waxhaw Town Hall. This session will focus on critical legislation that directly affects our communities’ ability to guide and manage local development. We will discuss Senate Bill 382, which has already weakened local zoning authority,…
Waxhaw’s Spending Trends
Over the past five fiscal years, Waxhaw’s government spending trends have increased significantly across multiple departments. While population growth and inflation have contributed to rising costs, spending in several areas has outpaced both metrics. As we progress through budget season, it’s helpful to visualize departmental budget growth from FY20-21 through FY24-25. These increases might seem…
Resources to Oppose HB765
As detailed in this post, HB765 is an unprecedented attack on local government. This post has more detail, and this post explains the problems with the study that is being used to justify this bill. This page contains resources that will make it easy for you to email ALL of your representatives in the NC…
NC’s Housing Study Funded by Industry
The NC Chamber Foundation’s recent housing “study” claims North Carolina faces a crisis: 764,000 homes needed by 2029. But let’s not mistake this for an honest analysis. It’s a developer-backed narrative, crafted to justify legislation like HB 765—a bill that guts local authority, silences elected officials, and invites lawsuits against towns that dare to regulate…
HB 765 – The Gory Details
Here’s a summary of each change that HB 765 makes: 120-36.7.(e) – Adds a significant burden to the Fiscal Research Division of the state government, requiring them to analyze the five-year impact of bills and resolutions on the costs of “constructing, purchasing, owning, or selling a single-family residence, either directly or indirectly”. 159-42.2.(a) – Adds…
House Bill 765: A Hostile Takeover of Local Government
District 55 Representative Mark Brody (of Union County) is sponsoring a bill (HB765) in the NC House that would virtually eliminate regulation of residential development by local governments in the entire state of North Carolina. Rep. Brody is a contractor by trade (as stated on his page), who if still active would be likely to…
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Mayor Murray Ends The Pappas Confusion
At the end of the March 11th meeting of the BOC, Mayor Murray clarified the facts regarding the plan to install the former mayor as Town Manager. Showing true leadership, he stepped out of his comfort zone to confront this recent source of division on the board. With grace and sincerity, but without avoiding the…
Commissioner Wedra Update #5
In response to yesterday’s post, the town released an announcement stating that no official moves had been made to appoint former mayor Ron Pappas to the position of Town Manager. This was an understandable attempt at reputational damage control for the town, but didn’t really tell us anything new. After all, the subject of yesterday’s…
From Landslide Loss to Backroom Deal
Town staff have received word from Commissioner Wesolek that reveals the board majority’s plan: they intend to install former mayor Ron Pappas in place of the current Interim Town Manager Richard Hicks. Staff, feeling duty-bound, informed our Mayor. This move, decided behind closed doors, is a blatant attempt to subvert the will of the voters…
Waxhaw Embraces State Handcuffs
As discussed in this previous post, the NC state legislature eviscerated local control over zoning on December 11th by placing onerous restrictions on down zoning (any change that reduces density). This seems intended to lock in profits for developers, as higher density residential developments tend to be more profitable than those with lower density. Not…
Waxhaw’s Budget – Inflation, Population, or Imagination?
Fiscal Responsibility: Striking a Balance in Waxhaw’s Budget Fiscal responsibility is a cornerstone of good governance. In Waxhaw, a growing and vibrant community, managing financial resources efficiently is critical to supporting both present and future needs. However, recent budgetary trends raise important questions about whether we are aligning our spending growth with realistic and sustainable…
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BOC Summary, December 10th, 2024
The Waxhaw Board of Commissioners (BOC) convened for its regular meeting on December 10th, addressing several key topics, including board appointments, public comments, a consultancy contract, and updates on state legislation. Here’s a detailed summary of the meeting: Technical Issues with Audio The first 41 minutes of audio from the meeting was neither broadcast on…
Atrium Development
On November 26th, 2024, the BOC voted to accept a conditional rezone that allows for the construction of a 190-unit age-restricted (55+) apartment building. The existing zoning of Economic Center requires that non-residential uses be built and well-established before any residential units can be constructed. Beginning with a suggestion by outgoing Town Manager Jeff Wells,…
Local Control Loses, Density Wins
The North Carolina legislature has passed SB382, which contains a sweeping revocation of the local control of all municipal governments to down-zone to lower density. The legislators who supported this say that it is needed to combat local government abuses in western NC post-Helene, but some representatives from those areas actually voted against it. Another…
Waxhaw’s Big Flush
Most Waxhaw residents know about the 12 Mile Creek wastewater treatment plant on Kensington Drive. It serves Waxhaw, Weddington, Wesley Chapel, Indian Trail, Stallings, parts of Marvin, and some unincorporated areas of Union County. However, if the new residential developments approved by the Waxhaw BOC were allocated wastewater capacity tomorrow, there would be almost none…
BOC Summary, October 8th, 2024
The October 8, 2024 meeting of the Waxhaw Board of Commissioners saw a wave of public dissatisfaction, as residents took to the podium to criticize three commissioners—Commissioners McMillon, Wesolek, and Hall—for their recent decisions. Public comments centered on the denial of the Planning Board chair’s application for another term, a decision that has raised eyebrows…
Commissioner Wedra Update #4
Here’s an update from Commissioner Wedra on the recent manipulation of the process for appointing volunteers to advisory boards. https://youtu.be/5Ky_TQfAzLA?si=FMhxCyDK52tKYiXi
Volunteer Attacked, Veteran Shunned
In a town already grappling with the impacts of rapid development, last night’s Waxhaw Board of Commissioners (BOC) meeting revealed a troubling display of political bias and ethical concerns. Three of the five commissioners voted to remove two well-qualified candidates from consideration for the Planning Board, with deeper tensions around growth and development at the…
September 10 BOC Meeting Summary
On September 10th, 2024, the Waxhaw BOC had their regular meeting. The meeting was dominated by discussion about whether the plan for the Yarbrough Village development should be approved, even though it is short of the quality of park land that town ordinances require. Click the summary links below if you’d like to skip to…
What is the Waxhaw Wall?
We are everyday people with families who are concerned by the irresponsibly rapid growth of our town that has occurred with little open discussion or dialogue. As local residents, we work towards good governance in our town. Our goals are: Responsible decisions on land use and development that protect our quality of life and safety.…
July 23 BOC Meeting Summary
Below is a summary of the July 23rd, 2024 meeting of the Waxhaw Board of Commissioners. The meeting began well, with the board voting unanimously to approve an efficiency program for Waxhaw employees. Spearheaded by Commissioner Daunt, this program rewards and recognizes employees who come forward with practical ideas to save the town money and…
Insulting the Neighbors
On June 25th, the BOC voted to send an insulting resolution to the Union County Board of Commissioners. The main purpose of this resolution was to complain about the BOCC’s decision in April to remove the eastern spur of the Waxhaw Parkway from its transportation plan. However, the resolution also contained the following inflammatory language:…
Big Developer Propaganda
There’s nothing wrong with free enterprise and making an honest living, but building/development companies have crossed the line when they seek to subvert the will of the people through obfuscation and outright lies. Even worse, we have seen dark money attempt to influence our local elections in favor of pro-development candidates. Profit-motivated builders and developers…
Mayor Murray on WBT
Our new Mayor did an excellent job representing Waxhaw this past Thursday on Breaking with Brett Jensen during the broadcast from the Waxhaw FD Cigar Company. Click here to listen. He was able to share some insights about reasons for the success of The Waxhaw Wall last November, and how that ties into Union County…
DeWitt Denied
On June 11th, the BOC denied a new development for the first time in many years. This project of 312 residential units deviated from Waxhaw’s Land Development Code in many ways, and perhaps the crucial factor was the lack of a necessary easement in the small commercial section. On April 16th, the Planning Board recommended…
Commissioner Wedra Update #3
Here’s an update from Commissioner Wedra regarding recent developments. https://youtu.be/u0TxzqU9Y1Q?si=_971Rv8uwj5P9fuE
Density Redefined
In March of 2021, the Unified Development Ordinance was replaced by the Land Development Code. The LDC encouraged higher-density residential development by: Increasing the density of R1, allowing one house per acre instead of one house per 2 1/3 acres Eliminating R2 (half acre lots) Adding a density bonus to R3, allowing up to 3.5…
Illegal To Vote No?
When discussing growth in our town, it’s important to understand the distinction between “by right” projects, and projects that require a “conditional” rezone. If a proposed project/development is “by right”, it means that the existing zoning is adequate, and there is no rezoning decision for the Waxhaw Board of Commissioners to make. It would of…
Two by Two 101
What’s a “two by two”? It’s the name given to the practice of splitting the Waxhaw Board of Commissioners into groups of two so the town staff can meet with them away from the public eye. According to NC Open Meetings Law, the public must be invited when a majority of a legislative public body…
Update from Commissioner Susanna Wedra
Here’s another video update from Commissioner Wedra, specifically regarding some more new developments that are proposed. https://youtu.be/03IE8PaVS9Q?si=dKho6BbIUq45ZqRk
Meet Mayor Murray
This Tuesday, come out to meet and chat with our new Mayor, Robert Murray III.
Graham Property Annex/Rezone
On April 23, 2024, in a 3 to 2 vote, the Waxhaw Board of Commissioners (BOC) approved the annexation of 168.58 acres from Union County R-20 to Waxhaw R-3 and Employment Center, despite strong opposition from the neighbors and surrounding community.NCGS 160D-605(b) addresses the statement of reasonableness, in that the statute lists factors to consider,…
Your Vote Log
Here’s how you can keep track of how everyone is voting. It goes back about four years and will be kept up to date going forward. Most of the focus is on growth/development, but it also has a few other items of interest.
Social District Consensus
This wasn’t widely reported at the time, so it’s worth re-iterating even now. Back in January during their retreat, the Waxhaw Board of Commissioners were in agreement that the town should not move forward on Social Districts. This was not an official vote, but we achieved consensus during the discussion on this topic. For those…
2×2 Update from Commissioner Wedra
Since the majority of the Waxhaw BOC insist on continuing with “2×2” meetings which the public are not invited to, Commissioner Wedra has kindly provided a video report of the discussions. Multiple residential developments were presented, one of which was “pre-zoned” a few years ago. For a snapshot of what’s currently in the pipeline, refer…
Voting on the Board of Commissioners
In Waxhaw, we have six members on our Board of Commissioners, but only five of them vote regularly. Although he is a member of the board, our Mayor only votes if there is a need to break a tie. This scenario would only arise if one of the regular voting members was absent and there…
Transparency Rejected
In the March 12th meeting of the Waxhaw BOC, the three holdovers from the previous administration went back on their transparency agreement at the January retreat – reverting to the practice of private “two by two” meetings. The meetings will not be broadcast or recorded. The following video is queued up to the discussion: https://youtu.be/C55uMdXfo94?t=6609
Taxes and Residential Development
On Friday, March 8th in a special meeting of the Waxhaw Board of Commissioners, Randall Arendt (Fellow of the Royal Town Planning Institute) from Greener Prospects was brought in as an expert, and stated that “you never get more tax dollars from development unless it’s non-residential”. However, there are a few exceptions: Age-restricted with no…
How Waxhaw Works
Waxhaw has a Council-Manager form of government, in which the council/board hires a Town Manager to oversee the day-to-day operations of the town. The various department heads and their employees ultimately report to the Town Manager, who serves at the pleasure of the Waxhaw Board of Commissioners. You might think Waxhaw is a pretty small…
Transparency
On Friday the 26th we made a significant move towards greater transparency in Waxhaw. The BOC unanimously agreed to publicly broadcast the “two-by-two” meetings that are held preparatory to the regular meetings. Click the video to see the discussion. Below are my comments on this topic from the regular Tuesday meeting: Thank you to all…
The 2021 Waxhaw Rezone
In the March 23, 2021 meeting of the Waxhaw Board of Commissioners, several parcels of land were suddenly re-zoned to significantly higher densities. On a particularly large tract right in the center of Waxhaw, this was done in the absence of any plan for future development. Usually when the board is asked to zone for…
Residential Development in the Pipeline
Check the BOC Voting Log for dates, and more details.
The Waxhaw Wallop
The voters of Waxhaw handed The Waxhaw Wall a massive victory on November 7th. The message of Stable Growth, Stable Taxes, Residents First was an incredible winner! Click here to see the news report. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17tzjxlLTXQ After the election Queen City News reported on the agenda of the lame duck session of the board.
Dark Money in Waxhaw Politics
A 501(c)4 named “Stand NC, Inc” has funded expensive mailers, text messaging, and robocalls on behalf of the incumbents in Waxhaw’s municipal election this year. This type of non-profit is under no legal obligation to disclose the identity of its donors. There’s no way to “follow the money” back to any particular individual – especially…
The Waxhaw Wall Facebook Live Video
Taking questions from a live audience on Facebook, The Waxhaw Wall met on social media to provide more detail about their vision for Waxhaw.
Gary Sides on Polo Grounds
Speaking about the proposed Polo Grounds development last night Gary Sides, on the UCPS Board of Education expressed some of the frustration that many are feeling in Waxhaw. He also laid out some of the unappealing scenarios that could occur if this development get approved. There are others on the board who feel the same…
Don’t be Misled!
DON’T BE MISLED when elected officials attempt to obscure facts that reveal their indefensible rezoning approvals. Even when information taken directly from the town’s website is presented, elected officials will still attempt to mislead the public and insult their intelligence. This is very revealing.For instance, the Yarbrough Village rezoning was approved by this current board…
Approved Projects Transforming Our Town
Yarbrough Village rezoning was approved by the current Waxhaw Board of Commissioners on January 10, 2023. This is in addition to at least 600 units already approved by this current board. (Hwy 75/Somer Street, Rogers Pond Subdivision, Villages of Waxhaw, Prescot Village, Cottage Park, Southcreek, and Amavi).Yarbrough Village will have up to:8 units per acre…
Waxhaw Neighborhood Centers
There are 10 Neighborhood Centers depicted on the Future Land Use draft. It is nearly impossible to see the yellow circles over the yellow zoned areas on that map, so I included the Pedestrian Plan map as well. You may ask, what does a Neighborhood Center include?Single-FamilyAttached Cottage HomesDuplex/Triplex/QuadraplexUpper Story ApartmentsLive Work UnitsThe following two…
Waxhaw Parks & Rec
We love parks and green space, but what are the real needs of our community? The Town of Waxhaw is currently growing the Parks & Rec staff and budget by leaps and bounds in an effort to align with “benchmarks” from NRPA (a private nonprofit). Why the quotes around that word? Well, because the NRPA…
Top Down Growth Planning
Smart Growth America and How They are Transforming our Town:The Waxhaw Board of Commissioners adopted a development plan created by Smart Growth America. Smart Growth America is a 501-(c)(3) that is funded by organizations such as The Rockefeller Foundation and follows a housing and development model closely aligned with the United Nations 2030 Agenda.The Rockefeller…
Polo Grounds Proposed Development
Click images for information about the proposal. The property is currently zoned R-1 and EC.
Waxhaw Wall 101
Why do we call ourselves a “Wall”? Not to keep people out or close ourselves off, but to separate the different motivations that tend to drive public and private institutions. Private institutions are profit-motivated, and public (government) institutions should be service-motivated. The profit motive usefully drives people to work hard, but our public institutions need…
Town Hall Debacle
When 150+ people showed up at the Waxhaw Town Hall Forum meeting to talk about the Adelina development, Mayor Pappas had the gall to tell them they had come to the wrong meeting, and that Adelina would not be discussed. This is typical of the disrespect that we the people get from the current administration.Make…
Adelina Development
The approval of the Adelina development, that will connect to the Inverness community, is not a foregone conclusion. The land is not in the Town of Waxhaw. It is in Union County. The Waxhaw Board of Commissioners can choose to not annex. The Waxhaw Board of Commissioners can choose to not approve the project. Presently,…
The Vicious Waxhaw Circle
As local property taxes go up, long-time residents with land may not be able to afford them. Over time they end up selling their land and moving away. This paves the way for higher-density development and higher population. The increased population boosts town revenues, and elected officials tend to find a way to spend it…
Waxhaw Shenanigans
The shenanigans started as soon as The Waxhaw Wall filed as candidates. Several domains were immediately purchased by someone who redirected them to the website of the Union County Democratic Party (Union County, New Jersey!). Thankfully, they neglected to grab thewaxhawwall.com, which we are now using for our main website.