The voters of Raleigh and Cary spoke loud and clear yesterday that they favored a slow growth path for their respective cities. Yet, look what happens today…
INC Research, based in Wake County has been given $14.8 million in state incentives to add almost 1,100 workers to their existing workforce.
Well, where exactly do these city leaders think these 1,100 new workers and their families are going to live? I would bet a great many of them would like to live in Cary or Raleigh.
It seems rather contradictory to embrace incentives as a way to attract new businesses and jobs to an area at the same time you tell home builders that they can’t build new homes because growth is out of control.
Is this the new NIMBY-ism? Please come work and shop in our community, but please don’t live here, our schools and roads are overcrowded.
Excellent point. Furthermore, why do local governments give taxpayer money away to entice more people to work/live in their community while at the same time complaining they don’t have enough taxpayer dollars to pay for all the new people moving to their community?
Because if the politicians don’t give out money they don’t feel they can claim credit for the jobs. That was how it use to work in the old days. The economy expanded and people in elected positions took credit.
I think its a mischaracterization of the people who won in Raleigh and Cary to call them slow-growth. They would be more accurately called smart growth or responsible growth. The people who won want people to come to Raleigh and Cary, but they want development to be sustainable. That means that new growth needs to pay a larger share of the growing infrastructure costs instead of forcing everyone else to pay higher taxes. That means a greater emphasis on infill development instead of sprawl. And it means making sure that infrastructure is in place before developments are approved so thousands of kids aren’t forced into school trailers.
Well Justin, you may want to take issue with the N&O then. From an article in today’s (Thursday’s) paper:
“The political landscape in Wake County’s two biggest cities changed dramatically Tuesday when voters elected predominantly slow-growth candidates.”
http://www.newsobserver.com/630/story/733163.html
I have annoyed with the N&O using the slow-growth tag as well. I’ve been pondering a letter to the editor but I’m not sure whether I should write about the slow-growth label or their overall lack of coverage of the local races.
Did you know that on Tuesday there was absolutely no mention that it was an Election Day on the front page?
Justin… I’d suggest taking a spin around the blog (or the work) of Randall O’Toole. http://ti.org/antiplanner/