Where Developer Money Flows (Explains Charlotte's forgotten Corridors: Southwest, East, Northeast, West, Northwest)
At last week's East Charlotte candidate forum, one question the neighborhood group asked of all Charlotte City Council candidates was whether they had received a campaign donation from REBIC, the Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition, a powerful lobby of developers and real estate executives. (Technically the campaign donation is from its PAC known by SPAACE.)
Libertarian Travis Wheat, Democrat Darrin Rankin's wife (who was representing him) and Republicans Matthew Ridenhour and Jaye Rao reported no REBIC donations as of last week. Democrats Patrick Cannon and David Howard and Republicans Edwin Peacock III and Tariq Scott Bokhari all reported receiving a total of $1,000.
Despite the lack of REBIC money, Rankin's campaign spending reports show campaign contributions from uber-developer John Crosland ($1,000), uber-lobbyist Bailey Patrick Jr. ($100), developer Howard Bissell III (son of Howard "Smokey" Bissell).
Incumbent Democrat Susan Burgess bragged last week at the forum that she had never gotten a REBIC donation, which she attributed to her positions on environmental and other issues. But a close look at her campaign reports shows generous developer money flowing her way. Here's a sampling (all are developers unless otherwise noted): Clay Grubb $1,000, David Miller $1,000, Stoney Sellars $1,000, construction magnate Luther Cochrane $750, Smokey Bissell $500, real estate lawyer Collin Brown $500, John Crosland $500, Afshin Ghazi $500, David Haggard $500, Fred Klein $500, Al Levine $500, Daniel Levine $500, Todd Mansfield of Crosland $500, Pat Rodgers of Rodgers Builders $500, real estate lawyer Jeff Brown $400, lawyer Bailey Patrick $200, John Collett $250, Jim Dulin $250, David Furman $250, Peter Pappas $250, "unknown" with Childress Klein gave $250, Ned Curran $150.
Read all the donation reports for yourself: Here's a link. Be aware that the final reports aren't due until after the election. And it's sometimes instructive to see who chips in with donations after it's clear who'll be in office. Next campaign finance report due Oct. 26. Then nothing more is due until Jan. 29. It's remarkably handy for keeping the voting public from learning who might have tossed in a big bundle right before election day.
Is Landlord Registry Proposal In Jeopardy?
Based on comments at Monday's City Council meeting and at the Tuesday City Council candidate forum in East Charlotte, I count at least five council members who have indicated they support a landlord registry program as originally proposed by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department: All residential rental property owners would have to register and pay a small fee.
But the Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition lobbied against that proposal, so the City Council committee studying the matter (Democrats Warren Turner and Patsy Kinsey, and Republicans Edwin Peacock and Andy Dulin) ordered a "compromise." The compromise would register only the worst of the landlords - worst being the ones at the top of the list for criminal activity, etc.
However, council members Turner, James Mitchell, Michael Barnes and Nancy Carter all said they support full registry, not partial. Anthony Foxx did not stake himself out Monday but asked a question in order to elicit the answer that full registration would noticeably reduce the registration fee, as it would be spread over a much larger number of landlords.
Kinsey, who is on the committee that coughed out the compromise, pointed out that the compromise was the only way to get the proposal out of committee, as they were stalemated.
Susan Burgess said at the forum Tuesday she supports full registration.
If Kinsey OR Foxx were to vote for full registration rather than partial, that measure would pass.
But, as Burgess said when I asked her Tuesday about it, 6-5 isn't a veto-proof vote. Would the mayor veto it? She said she didn't know.
For those who haven't checked in on this issue, the police want a way to get problem landlords to the table to talk with police about measures to reduce crime on their properties. Police also want a way to be able to find out who the property owners are. They say it can be difficult to find telephone numbers or responsive people with some out-of-town property owners. Neighborhood activists over the years say the same thing - some property owners really don't want to be found.
The question is whether it's worth the hassle of citywide registration to get to the comparatively few landlords causing problems. REBIC and the apartment association don't think it is. The police originally said it was. (The staff needed for the program would be funded with the fees.) When told to "compromise," of course, they dutifully complied.
Key fact: The matter comes before the council in November - after the election. So anything can happen.
City council debates revised rules for landlords
The owners of crime-ridden rental properties would be required to register with the city and could be fined hundreds of dollars if they ignore requests to make changes under a revised ordinance scheduled to go before city leaders Monday night.
Members of city council's committee on community safety have spent months drafting the plan with the help of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.
An initial plan to require every Charlotte landlord to register with the city has been dropped amid opposition from property owners and lobbyists with the rental industry.
"We came to an agreement that those that are causing the problems, which is less than 4-percent of all rental properties, that they have to register and they have to pay for their fair share of what’s causing the problem for the police department," said council member Edwin Peacock, who serves on the Community Safety Committee.
About one-third of the city's robberies and auto thefts occur at apartment communities, according to a police analysis of crime.
In some cases, police work for months to identify and contact the owner of a rental property where officers have responded to repeated calls.
Property owners identified by police would pay between $335 and $1300 to register with the city, a fee determined by the number of rental properties the landlord operates.
Officers would draft an improvement plan for the property and a newly formed review board would examine changes at the rental home every six months.
After 18 months, landlords who have not made significant improvements could have their rental privilages revoked and would face fines of up to $500 per day if they continue to ignore the city's demands.
"We can give CMPD a tool that is fair and is balanced," Peacock said, "We're asking for those people that are causing CMPD a lot of calls to pay for it."
If council gives its initial approval Monday for the plan, a public hearing would be scheduled for next month.
Landlords would begin registering their properties next May.
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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, WCNC, The Naked City, Charmeck.org, Indy.com, Getty Images, Google Maps
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