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 […]
General
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, […]
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 […]