In an opinion piece in the Greensboro News and Record, staff columnist Doug Clark relates how groups from High Point and Greensboro are looking to Greenville South Carolina?s revitalization of their downtown area for ideas to implement here. Heaven help us!
Seems Greenville city leaders set out to create a magical pedestrian experience. The project included such ?magic? as walkways and a curving 355-foot suspension bridge just for pedestrians, a zoo, a minor league baseball park, performing arts center and statues and other public art. There?s even a Hyatt hotel that is built around a ?gigantic interior public space. Not surprisingly, the plan drew stiff resistance.
In describing the development and re-creation of Greenville?s downtown district, Clark says,
?Skepticism continued, but strong, visionary leaders forged ahead, using tools like tax-increment financing, hotel taxes, food and beverage taxes and, on occasion, eminent domain. The city acquired properties and resold them to developers with stipulations about what projects were allowed. Plans were executed with discipline.?
JLF has written extensively on all of these bad ideas. For a few look to these JLF reports on the problems with tax increment financing here and here, visitor taxes here, smart growth proposals here, convention centers here and eminent domain here and here. Like to see more? Search here.
At least South Carolina has stronger annexation laws than we do. Why aren?t the High Point and Greensboro city leaders looking to that for guidance? Daren certainly gives them plenty of reasons to reform North Carolina?s forced annexation laws here and here.
Could it be that city governments everywhere just want the right to take over our lives as Ellis Hankins with the North Carolina League of Municipalities explained to a legislative committee last year?
HT: DA
