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Press Release: Sustain Charlotte strongly opposes HB 765

Sustain Charlotte is urging members of the Mecklenburg state delegation to oppose House Bill 765 because we are deeply concerned about the far-reaching negative impacts this bill would have on residents in Mecklenburg County and across our state.

House Bill 765 would make our streets less safe, damage our environment, raise costs for residents, and strip our communities of the right to govern our growth responsibly. North Carolina needs more affordable housing — and we can build it without sacrificing walkability, sustainability, or community character.

Below is more on HB 765 and why we are advocating for representatives to oppose it. Please let me know if you’d like to talk to a member of our staff for additional perspective.

 

HB 765 Strips Away Local Control and Community Voice

Perhaps most fundamentally, HB 765 would severely undermine municipalities’ ability to

make and enforce development regulations that are in the best interest of our residents:

  • It would limit local governments’ zoning authority to only what is explicitly authorized by the state (Section 2),

  • Prevent communities from using general police powers to address emerging local needs related to land use regulations (Sections 2(b)-(d)),

  • Impose impossibly high barriers to preserving historic districts (Section 18), and

  • Expose elected and appointed officials to personal legal liability for land-use decisions (Sections 25 and 26), discouraging civic participation and eroding democratic governance.

HB 765 Threatens Street Safety and Walkability

At a time when Charlotte and other Mecklenburg municipalities are striving to create safer, more walkable communities, HB 765 would take us in the opposite direction.

Section 12 of the bill would severely limit local governments’ ability to require sidewalks as part of new developments, unless narrowly justified. This threatens our efforts to promote low-emission, multimodal transportation options and undermines Vision Zero goals to eliminate traffic fatalities. In a fast-growing region like ours, where safe pedestrian infrastructure is critical, this bill would leave too many residents without safe options to walk to school, work, parks, or transit.

HB 765 Undermines Sustainable, Responsible Growth

Our communities have worked hard over many years to develop planning tools like Charlotte’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) and the Comprehensive Plan, which are critical for managing growth sustainably. HB 765 would dismantle these local initiatives by:

  • Exempting developments with vested rights from important environmental protections (Section 5);

  • Upzoning residential areas indiscriminately without requiring infrastructure adequacy or environmental review (Section 13);

  • Encouraging fragmented, leapfrog development through expanded use of private wastewater systems (Section 29);

  • Mandating first-come, first-served water and sewer capacity allocation, stripping local utilities of the ability to prioritize sustainable, equitable growth (Section 37).

  • Unchecked development without coordinated infrastructure planning leads to increased stormwater runoff, heat islands, habitat loss, and higher emissions — outcomes that are especially harmful in Mecklenburg, where we are already grappling with the consequences of rapid growth and climate change.

HB 765 Would Increase Fiscal Risk and Burden Local Taxpayers

This bill would impose significant unfunded mandates on local governments and utilities. It forces rapid approval timelines for development applications (Sections 10 and 14) while stripping localities of tools to negotiate infrastructure investments or require mitigation measures. Allowing private wastewater systems within areas already served by public utilities (Section 29) could undermine public system financing and shift the risk of system failures onto taxpayers.

By removing local governments’ ability to manage development costs and prioritize strategic investments, HB 765 would drive up the long-term cost of infrastructure maintenance and emergency services, ultimately burdening Mecklenburg County taxpayers.

Our Mecklenburg County communities deserve the ability to shape their own futures, reflect local values, and respond to local needs. HB 765 would dangerously curtail that right.