Opinion

LIGHTNING EDITORIAL: Beware the zeal for regulatory repeal

By Bill Moss, Published: November 16, 2013

The Hendersonville Lightning broke the news that Cam Boyd had written a letter to Mayor Volk and the council asking for a waiver on the commercial water impact fee for the new Boyd Chevrolet dealership on Spartanburg Highway. Oh, and by the way, construction "items that are required by the city" had already cost the dealership $486,000, he said.
The story instantly became the new poster child for the city's supposed regulatory overreach and fee-charging frenzy — like the infamous $280,000 "system development charge" for a proposed new carwash. It turns out, though, that 84 percent of the half-million-dollar cost arose from federal, state or county laws. The city code required Boyd to put in $67,000 worth of landscaping and sidewalks.
Is planting trees and pouring sidewalks expensive? Yep. But will the new dealership, Fresh Market and CVS look better because of it? Yep.