Could Mecklenburg extend its stay-at-home order? It could rest on whether 1 town agrees.
If North Carolina lets its stay-at-home order expire, Mecklenburg County apparently won’t be able to extend its own — even if that’s what public health advisers suggest, a top county official said Wednesday.
Stay-at-home orders for both the state and for Mecklenburg County expire on April 29. Mecklenburg’s order went into effect first and has been amended to run for as long as North Carolina’s state order remains in place. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper plans to announce as early as this week whether he’ll extend the state order or lift it.
If he lifts it, Mecklenburg and other counties would have the option of extending their own orders.
But “the likelihood that we would (extend the order) is not very good given that all the municipalities would have to agree,” county commissioners Chair George Dunlap told the Observer.
Dunlap said it’s not likely that all of the county’s six small towns would go along with an extension. It would, he said, have to be “all or nothing.”
In a document provided commissioners Wednesday, county attorney Tyrone Wade said Dunlap is right.
“There is no legal authority for a county to unilaterally impose its emergency restrictions or prohibitions within a municipality absent the consent of the Mayor or other official authorized under the municipality’s emergency ordinance.”
Commissioners were expected to discuss the policy at Wednesday night’s meeting.
At least one town in Mecklenburg County is ready to begin reopening.
“I have been talking to the mayors in and around Mecklenburg County (and) I think there is some momentum to open up certain businesses within the guidelines the governor sent out two weeks ago,” Mayor John Aneralla of Huntersville said Wednesday.
Aneralla said he favors gradually relaxing restrictions. For example, he said, large stores like Wal-Mart and Target have remained opened while small stores selling some of the same merchandise — such as card shops — have had to close.
“It’s unfair,” Aneralla said. “They’re dying right now. What the last 40 days have taught us is self-social distancing, and that conditioning won’t leave us tomorrow…. But we need to get the economy moving. So let’s slowly start that process after the end of the month.“
‘Soft opening’ talks in Mint Hill
Mint Hill Mayor Brad Simmons said his board has started talking about a “soft opening.” But he said he’s in favor of keeping the stay-at-home order if that’s what public health officials recommend. He would support reexamining it every couple weeks.
Last Tuesday, County Manager Dena Diorio and Wade “had agreed to disagree” on Mecklenburg’s authority to prolong the stay-at-home order into May or later — especially if the mayors of the surrounding towns refused to comply.
”You do want the cooperation of the other towns to participate in a restrictive order,” Wade had said, adding Mecklenburg could not force mayors to sign another emergency proclamation.
“I want to know what is the extent of our authority,” commissioner Trevor Fuller had said. “Do the towns have veto power over what the county decides? I just want to know the answers to these things.”
In a written response to Fuller’s query, county staff said Mecklenburg does not have the legal authority “to unilaterally impose its emergency restrictions or prohibitions” within other municipalities or jurisdictions.
Put simply, county-wide emergency orders require the support — and signatures —from the mayors of Charlotte and the surrounding six towns.
If Mecklenburg County commissioners imposed a curfew, for example, it would not automatically apply to the city of Charlotte. Mayor Vi Lyles would either have to consent to the county’s curfew or issue her own emergency declaration.
The local stay-at-home order went into effect for Mecklenburg on March 26 and was intended to last for at least three weeks to limit the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. It banned public and private gatherings of more than 10 people but residents could still leave their homes for essential activities such as buying groceries or caring for friends and loved ones.
One town mayor warns of lifting it too quickly.
“We’ve got to be careful and look where COVID-19 is trending before we open up,” said Davidson Mayor Rusty Knox. “The last thing we want is a rebound effect where we reverse the downward trends that a lot of communities around the country are seeing now. My biggest fear is we cut off our noses to spite our faces on this.”
This week, county residents already could find more businesses open — by driving across the state line.
SC reopening economy
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster lifted restrictions Monday that he placed on businesses several weeks ago, allowing select retail stores to reopen.
But even with permission to open their doors, several businesses in York County have been hesitant to do so.
“Opening back up is great and everything,” said Mike Pruette, an owner of The Liberty Book Company in Rock Hill. “But it’s very fast notice ... We are not in a position to be open to the public today.”
Under the governor’s new order, department stores can reopen, along with other retail businesses deemed “nonessential,” such as sporting goods stores, book, music and craft stores, shoe and clothing stores, jewelry stores, floral shops and luggage and leather goods stores.
Businesses must still follow previous mandates that limit five customers per 1,000 square feet in stores, or 20% of posted occupancy limits.
When McMaster ordered all non-essential businesses to close last month, The Liberty Book Company “shifted gears” and started making masks, Pruette said. The book store planned to reopen Tuesday, but isn’t expecting a lot of business, Pruette said.
“I don’t expect people to run out and start shopping just because they can,” he said. “I think most people are still very wary and will practice good social distancing.”
However, York County Council member Allison Love, who owns Allison Love’s Fine Jewelry in Rock Hill, said she is expecting her store to get some traffic, especially from customers in North Carolina.
“I have a lot of customers from North Carolina that are going to be headed this way as soon as I open the doors,” she said. “The majority of my customers come from Charlotte.”
Mayor John Gettys told The (Rock Hill) Herald Monday he is not concerned that a rush of people will leave their homes to shop now that some restrictions are lifted.
“I’m not really sure that (McMaster’s) loosening of the existing restrictions is a dramatic decrease in the restrictions that were out there before,” Gettys said. “We still have the option of going to locations or not, and certainly, we all recognize the benefits from keeping our distance from each other.”
And with the county’s proximity to Charlotte, Gettys said, it’s inevitable that people continue to travel between the two states, but he doesn’t expect people from North Carolina to flood the newly-opened South Carolina retail stores.
“In this area of South Carolina, a good number of our people work in Charlotte and commute to Charlotte,” he said. “I’m not sure that the loosening of the restrictions will have a dramatic effect in that regard.”
Aneralla, of Huntersville, said there are ways to balance the economy and public health.
“And I think slowly opening the economy up is where the balance is,” he said.
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 3:49 PM.
