Rezoning: As a former Charlotte planning board chair, I see citizen feedback differently

Rezoning feedback

The writer is the former chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission.

Regarding “Charlotte City Council, stop pretending citizens have a say in rezoning,” (Jan. 23 Forum):

Charlotte residents give valuable input on rezonings that improve the final product, including in the case of the recent 36th Street rezoning in NoDa. Members of City Council, the planning commission, and planning staff take concerns from residents to developers to make projects better — even when we support a petition a community member opposes, or vice versa.

Charlotte is going to grow and we have to build more better housing faster to combat our affordability crisis, especially near transit. We can do a better job making sure folks know they’ve been heard even when we disagree, and I encourage everyone to use their voice.

Sam Spencer, Charlotte

A walkable city

Regarding “Fired Chick-fil-A manager doesn’t regret rezoning barb,” (Jan. 26):

John Holmes is right; too bad Chick-fil-A fired him for speaking out. The Charlotte City Council should never have allowed Chick-fil-A or Fifth Third Bank to build drive-thru locations where drive-thrus are not allowed.

How can the city say it wants a pedestrian friendly city when it places cars ahead of people? This is shortsighted. Why should people get out of their cars when they can grab a bite and do their banking from their cars?

Charlotte needs to work towards having a vibrant cityscape. It will never have the street life of Key West, but right now Charlotte’s street life is about as exciting as a walk in Death Valley.

Like many Charlotteans, I want to know how these companies were able to get exemptions to allow them to build drive-thrus.

Augie Beasley, Charlotte

Charlotte trees

Regarding concerns about tree loss in Charlotte, I would like to point out that for years when any type of construction has been done most or all of the trees have been clear cut from the building sight. Some years ago we bought property in Palm Coast Fla. and planned to construct a house on it. The land management segment stipulated that at least five old growth trees had to remain on the property. Do the math and that becomes a lot trees that are not unnecessarily cut down. Why can’t this practice be applied in Charlotte, or for that matter to all of North Carolina?

Carmine Renaud, Matthews

Meck roads

I have one request of Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte: Please repaint the road lane lines. They are increasingly hard to see, especially on a rainy night.

Andrew Hoxie, Denver

Conservative’s plea

I am a sane conservative with no candidate. I believe Trump lost and is misusing his former office to avoid criminal charges and bankruptcy. I believe taking the debt ceiling hostage is irresponsible. I want to vote for a government that believes in mostly free-market and local solutions to serious problems, but Republican governors keep placing constituents in danger.

I believe in letting local governments decide how to spend their federal subsidies, and I believe the federal government should spend my tax dollars fighting against internet monopolies and oligopolies that are occurring faster than we can regulate them. I want to believe my government exists to protect me from the worst of a free market, yet my government fights only with its former self.

Someone. Please. Help.

Liz Pearson, Charlotte

Blaming Biden

While President Biden has made some mistakes in the last year, he is being blamed unfairly for the problems associated with COVID-19 and the failure of the Voting Rights Act to pass the U.S. Senate.

What do you expect him to do differently? His vaccine and mask mandates have been challenged in courts and judges have ruled against them despite the fact that those two measures reduce the spread of the virus.

The Voting Rights Act passed the House but hit a wall in the Senate. Much is made of the two Democratic senators who voted against it, but has everyone forgotten that 50 Republican senators also voted against it? I’m not sure what people expect Biden to do. He can’t force senators or judges to do his bidding.

Dianne Mason, Matthews