Statement
before the Wake County Commissioners
Remarks
of Karen Rindge, Chair, WakeUP Wake County
July
17, 2006
Mr.
Gurley, Mr. Webb, ladies and gentlemen of the Wake
County Board of Commissioners:
Good
Afternoon. I'm Karen Rindge, and I'm the chair of
WakeUP Wake County, a taxpayers' organization supporting
good growth locally. I appreciate the opportunity
to comment today on the work of the Blue-Ribbon Committee.
The
report shows us how big the challenge is that we all
face in making Wake County the best place it can be
going forward.
One
of our WakeUP members recently wrote:
"Establishment
of the Blue Ribbon Committee was a much-needed and
overdue attempt to coordinate the impacts of growth
before they overwhelm our environment, overwhelm
our infrastructures, and overwhelm our citizens'
pocket books.
"The impact of unplanned, un-coordinated growth
taxes all of these", she wrote:
- "it
crowds our schools,
- it
clogs our roads,
- it
chokes our air,
- and
it curtails our access to ample water, clean streams,
open spaces, and to recreational facilities."
When
we started our group a few months ago, we chose the
name WakeUP for two reasons. First, because we are
pro-growth, and we wanted to be clear that the future
direction of our county is UP.
But
we also wanted to underscore just how far behind we've
fallen in managing our growth. Behind in managing
it, and behind in paying for it, as the Blue-Ribbon
Committee discovered. We believe it's time for us
to wake up, and that's what the report tells us.
Here's
what we thought was left out, however.
- It's
time for impact fees in Wake County. The Committee
danced around them. That was a major stumble because
if we are to grow well, growth must pay for itself.
- It's
time to start managing our growth in Wake County.
That's because unmanaged growth is inefficient,
too expensive and it's unsustainable for much
longer.
- It's
time to start building a modern transit system
in Wake County. More big roads and more sprawl
and more highway miles traveled is just not a
workable, or healthy solution anymore for our
increasingly urban community.
- It's
time to plan for -and pay, when necessary- for
open space and to protect our water supply. We're
losing open space at a rate of 27 acres a day.
And water supplies are limited and fragile.
Indeed,
we must ask ourselves what kind of quality of life
will we have here if we fail to take such steps to
manage growth. And there will be costs with growth.
We are not fans of the sales tax because it's the
most unfair to people of limited means. The sales
tax should be our last choice, not our first.
As
new developments add to our backlog of schools, roads,
water supplies and all we need to maintain our quality
of life, impact fees should be assessed.
Impact
fees are the fairest way to allocate costs between
existing property owners, who've paid their dues already,
and new properties, which have paid no dues but are
entitled to all the benefits of Wake County "membership,"
if you will, as soon as they open.
We
may need an arsenal of options to turn to, to pay
for growth, which is why WakeUP urges you to ask the
state legislature for the power to consider a menu
of planning options - including impact fees. We appreciate
that Mr. Gurley has voiced his support for such choices.
We
understand the answers to Wake's growth problems are
complicated, they change over time, and they require
all of us to give a little to get a great benefit.
Finally, WakeUP was represented on the Blue-Ribbon
Committee by one of our founding members. We trust
you'll include us again as the work of managing our
growth goes forward. Thank you.
