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Is Charlotte a "green" city?


markey

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I think Charlotte is already falling victim to its own lack of sustainability. The city limits are enormous, with the farthest reaches having very low density. These areas are very difficult to cost effectively serve, with road mainenance, police and fire protection, and really all other types of city services. The high cost of serving this spread out area with a marginal tax base (let's face it, most homes along the city's perimeter aren't generating a lack of tax revenue) and it's no wonder people are back-lashing the rising tax rates. The average voter doesn't understand that their taxes are going up because of the relatvely conservative policy of the city on urban growth/city planning ordinances.

Compare that to Boston, where my property taxes are about 15% LOWER per home value, the sales tax is 30% LOWER, and the state income tax is 20% LOWER, while they provide MORE services. It's not because the cost of providing services here are lower, because they're certainly not (unions), but because the services are provided in a much more efficient manor due to the density.

If Charlotte wants to stay competitive, it is going to have to get serious about city planning. I started another thread on this over the coffee house, but the city continues to plan for this year, not for 20, 50 or 100 years. It doesn't seem that the city has an idea of what will be required to be an MSA of 5 million. Atlanta didn't know, and they still don't, as they proposed widening their suburban interstate to 23 lanes.

I suppose the problem is more political than anything, with city and county council members applying cheap band-aids to every problems to placate constituents, but a band-aid isn't going to cure a heart attack.

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Hi,

We are thinking of moving to Charlotte from Greensboro and I'm wondering if Charlotte is what one would consider a "green" city. Does the city participate in a recycling program and what is the overall feeling of the residents of Charlotte regarding the environment? Are there any home improvement stores in Charlotte that specialize in green products for the home?

BTW-I am not comparing Charlotte to Greensboro, however since Charlotte is larger and growing at a much quicker rate I'm thinking this might be a hotter topic with residents in Charlotte?

Thanks so much in advance!

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I think Charlotte is already falling victim to its own lack of sustainability. The city limits are enormous, with the farthest reaches having very low density. These areas are very difficult to cost effectively serve, with road mainenance, police and fire protection, and really all other types of city services. The high cost of serving this spread out area with a marginal tax base (let's face it, most homes along the city's perimeter aren't generating a lack of tax revenue) and it's no wonder people are back-lashing the rising tax rates. The average voter doesn't understand that their taxes are going up because of the relatvely conservative policy of the city on urban growth/city planning ordinances.

Compare that to Boston, where my property taxes are about 15% LOWER per home value, the sales tax is 30% LOWER, and the state income tax is 20% LOWER, while they provide MORE services. It's not because the cost of providing services here are lower, because they're certainly not (unions), but because the services are provided in a much more efficient manor due to the density.

If Charlotte wants to stay competitive, it is going to have to get serious about city planning. I started another thread on this over the coffee house, but the city continues to plan for this year, not for 20, 50 or 100 years. It doesn't seem that the city has an idea of what will be required to be an MSA of 5 million. Atlanta didn't know, and they still don't, as they proposed widening their suburban interstate to 23 lanes.

I suppose the problem is more political than anything, with city and county council members applying cheap band-aids to every problems to placate constituents, but a band-aid isn't going to cure a heart attack.

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Sadly, I don't have the energy of A2. After I rolled my eyes and walked past, I realized I should have just taken the clipboard and signed 'PLEASE KEEP THE BUSSES" or something. Those people are just workers getting paid by name, it's not like they care to discuss the actual topic, nor will they stop if they were convinced. People collect a lot of recycleable for the nickel they get, so you can bet people will continue to hand clipboards to dumbasses walking by for 75 cents a pop.

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  • 1 year later...

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte...tml?t=printable

This is a story worth posting on UrbanPlanet, but I didn't think it was worth its own thread. Apparently, the Federal Reserve made a strong business case to build a green roof as part of their renovations. It cost 20% more than a standard roof at 1,870,000, but will last twice as long at 40 years, and save on heating, cooling, and help clean up storm water runoff and reduce the urban heat island.

I sure hope this will continue as a trend. Charlotte is not getting any cooler, and this type of approach will really help to keep the city from being sweltering in summers like a lot of northeastern cities that have extreme heat islands. Charlotte has a tree canopy in a lot of its residential areas, but commercial areas really need to have approaches like this to keep them liveable.

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The Chicago City Hall green roof project was evidentially met with great success and has laid the blue print for many similar projects in that city. I've been hoping that a project would come along in charlotte that would spark such a trend. Between Wachovia, the Fed and Discovery Place, I hope its a sign of things to come.

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