Members of Congress returned this week after midterm elections delivered results surprising both political parties. With President Joe Biden’s approval ratings hovering in the mid-40% range and inflation as the top issue for a plurality of voters, there was widespread expectation that the Republican party would easily regain the majority in the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate.
Originally published on November 8, 2022, by the NAIOP E-Newsletter.
While most of the political establishment in the nation’s capital is focused on the midterm congressional elections, federal agency staff are still moving forward on developing regulations from legislation enacted this year. The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service last Friday issued their Priority Guidance Plan for 2022-2023, detailing their top regulatory priorities for the next year.
Originally published on October 18, 2022, by NAIOP.
NAIOP and its real estate industry allies last week provided suggestions on the Revitalizing Downtowns Act, legislation that would create a new tax credit to facilitate the conversion of older office buildings into multifamily housing structures. The bill would provide a 20% tax credit for expenses in converting a building that is at least 25 years old to multifamily housing, provided that at least 20% of the units are reserved for affordable housing. In a coalition letter to sponsors of the legislation, the real estate groups suggest expanding the category of properties eligible for the credit and ensuring real estate investment trusts can utilize the incentive, among other things.
Originally published on October 4, 2022, by NAIOP.
Last Friday, the House passed a stopgap funding bill – sending it for President Joe Biden’s signature only hours before a government shutdown would have taken effect – before lawmakers left to campaign for the November midterm elections. The Senate had passed the Continuing Resolution (CR) days prior, after Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) agreed to remove controversial energy project permitting legislation that had been part of his agreement with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to get his support for passage of the Inflation Reduction Act passed in August.
Originally published on September 27, 2022 by NAIOP Source E-Newslettter.
Last Friday in Pittsburgh, House Republicans, led by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), presented their “Commitment to America,” a broad outline of the direction House Republicans would take if they regained the majority in the House of Representatives after the November congressional midterm elections. The outline reflects more detailed proposals made by various policy task forces established by McCarthy to produce a policy agenda in advance of the midterms.
Originally published on September 21, 2022, by Toby Burke for NAIOP Blog.
The federal government in the United States is responsible for establishing national policies and objectives that are often not achievable without the active participation of state and local governments in our federalist system of government. Federal funds are usually included as part of these efforts to assist state and local governments in following federal guidelines and procedures to implement these policies. This reliance on the involvement of state and local governments places significant importance on strong intergovernmental relationships.
REBIC's Rob Nenfelt and his team put together this week's Two For Tuesday and UDO takes center stage early next week.
The Charlotte City Council has scheduled a public hearing on the proposed Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) for Monday, July 11. The Council Action Review begins at 5:00 pm followed by the Public Forum/Business meeting at 6:30 pm. An agenda should be available here by Friday afternoon. Click here to sign up to speak. 
Also, Planning Staff has just released responses to public comments submitted prior to last Thursday's deadline. Additional changes will be reflected in the next and likely final draft when it is released which will occur prior to the expected vote on adoption in late August. Here's a link to the page containing the Second Draft Public Comments - With Staff Responses.
For additional UDO resources, please visit Charlotte's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) - (charlotteudo.org).
As Charlotte strives for a UDO, what can we learn from Raleigh? Hear a discussion with public and private perspectives about the process, transition and implementation.
originally published by REBIC with permission to prepost
Primary Elections are just around the corner! The time is now to do your research and get involved. As a reminder, the Election schedule is as follows:
originally published by REBIC with permission to repost
Important reminder that the comment period for the first draft of Charlotte’s proposed Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) closes at the end of the day on Friday, March 18th. We anticipate the next draft being released sometime in May and have encouraged a number of changes aimed at providing greater certainty with reduced timelines, more flexibility for challenging projects, and the ability to develop and produce additional housing stock to meet existing and future demands. We hope you will take the time to share your concerns with Planning Staff through the available online comment portal.
originally published by TOBY BURKE for NAIOP National with permission to repost
Most state governments have emerged from the pandemic-induced economic slowdown with budgetary surpluses because projected revenue losses did not occur. Losses in tax collections from certain sectors of the economy, such as restaurants, hospitality and entertainment, were offset by the collection of sales taxes from increased internet transactions, along with the $193.5 billion to states under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The State Expenditure Report from the National Association of State Budget Officers notes that, while state expenditures have increased, so have revenues by 12.8% for fiscal year.
originally published for NAIOP National
Authorization for continued government spending will expire on Friday, March 11, unless Congress agrees on an omnibus fiscal 2022 appropriations bill or passes another short-term funding extension. The time frame for action is shorter, however, because the House of Representatives is scheduled to recess Wednesday, with Democrats going to Philadelphia for their policy retreat.
House Democrats had planned to pass the omnibus spending bill by Wednesday, but negotiations have been complicated by a White House request for an additional $22.5 billion for COVID-19 relief funding, and the need for supplemental funding for humanitarian, military and economic aid for Ukraine.
The final recommended policy maps were released yesterday and can be found here.
The Policy Map is scheduled to be adopted on March 28th. The upcoming public hearing is our opportunity to convey any outstanding concerns to the ultimate decision makers – Members of the Charlotte City Council. General talking points will be available for distribution prior to the hearing.
NC lawmakers pass new political maps, this time with…
North Carolina lawmakers have now passed new political districts for themselves and the state’s 14 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives – but it’s not the final decision, since the court system will still have a say in the matter next week. …
Read more
www.newsobserver.com
Last year, the NAIOP Charlotte Legislative E-List was created with the purpose of allowing members in good standing a platform to stay up to date and connected to the many legislative activities going on in Charlotte and the industry as well as participate in ongoing conversations relevant to the commercial real estate development community. Between the 2040 Comp Plan, UDO, Policy Maps, just to name a few, this is a fantastic tool to stay in the know. This list can be managed through your member profile. Follow these steps to sign up today.
2040 Policy Map
Charlotte’s 2040 Policy Map, currently undergoing its third iteration, is scheduled to be released next Monday, February 21st with a public hearing to follow on February 28th. We hope the new map will incorporate many of our recommendations, including encouraging higher densities where appropriate and letting the market guide potential future land use options.
Election Update
The General Assembly is scheduled to vote Wednesday and Thursday of this week on newly drawn Congressional and State House and Senate Districts. Many involved in the process are hoping to reach some sort of compromise so the elections may proceed. Candidate filing is scheduled to recommence on February 24th. If things haven’t been settled by then, look for election dates to be pushed back yet again.
Beginning next Thursday, the Charlotte Department of Planning, Design & Development will host weekly virtual listening sessions focused on UDO topics that have sparked particular interest from the community. We invite you to share your input with staff about the proposed standards in the first draft UDO for the topics listed below. Each session will be offered twice on the scheduled day, from 12-1p.m. and 6-7p.m via Zoom. Registration is required.
Thursdays with the UDO Virtual Listening Sessions
February 17, 2022 | Heritage Tree Protection
February 24, 2022 | Short-Term Rentals
March 3, 2022 | Neighborhood 1 Zoning Districts
March 10, 2022 | Parking
These sessions will include a brief presentation from staff about the topic followed by an open forum. If you are interested in speaking during the session, please sign up to speak when you register to attend. Based on the number of registered participants, individual speaking time will be limited. Your feedback is important to us, and we look forward to hearing from you!
originally published by KATHRYN HAMILTON, CAE for NAIOP National with permission to repost.
Five primary factors will shape this November’s midterm elections. Each has varying degrees of importance, but all solidly affect President Joe Biden’s approval ratings, which influences how people will vote, said Larry Sabato, Ph.D., political prognosticator, professor of politics at the University of Virginia, and founder and director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, during an exclusive NAIOP members-only webinar this week.
originally published by REBIC with permission to repost
Last summer the City of Charlotte Planning, Design & Development Department kicked-off the Charlotte Future 2040 Policy Map process as a first step in putting the Charlotte Future 2040 Comprehensive Plan into action. Thank you to those of you who have participated in engagement in this effort to date.
originally published by REBIC with permission to repost.
From the News & Observer:
North Carolina Senate Republicans plan on Wednesday to postpone the state’s primary elections to June 7, citing ongoing litigation of the newly enacted redistricting maps. The state Supreme Court scheduled arguments in the redistricting case for Feb. 2. The court in December pushed back the primary from its original March 8 date to May 17, as part of an expedited hearing schedule for challenges to the redrawn maps. But Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell, said Monday that the current schedule “is an extremely short timeframe that will cause unnecessary confusion and chaos.”
