CHARLOTTE — On the busiest shopping days, navigating the parking lot can be a nightmare -- but for the rest of year, many of those same spots sit empty.
According to Representative Donnie Loftis of Gaston County and Ryan Carter, the policy director for the Catawba Riverkeeper, that empty space can be a pricey problem.
“No one’s benefitting from it,” Carter said. “When we look around empty parking lots like this one we ask what could go there instead and truthfully, anything is better than an empty parking lot.”
Carter’s concern is stormwater runoff. Anytime water is falling on pavement instead of the ground or any other surface that can absorb it, that water collects and flows right into our drains, taking any pollutants on that pavement with it. In many cases, that can include something called “coal tar sealant,” which has been linked to health concerns like fertility issues, respiratory diseases, and cancers.
“It’s this kind of byproduct of coal ash,” Carter said. “These break down over time and as they break down they get swept in as it rains and end up in our waterways.”
The sealant is already banned in Mecklenburg and Watauga counties, but a bill currently in the statehouse could ban it across North Carolina. The bill would also get rid of requirements that large parking lots be built at all.
House Bill 369, which Rep. Loftis sponsors, is focused on reducing stormwater pollution by eliminating parking minimums statewide.
“I want to drive right next to the front door too. That’s just human nature,” he said. “But the goal is, to impact a couple of things, the storm water runoff and giving more area for that water to settle before it gets into a storm water creek or stream.”
With the South Fork of the Catawba River running right through his district, Loftis said he wanted to balance the conservation needs of his community and the entire state with the increased economic development it’s been seeing. He believes by eliminating requirements for developers to build a minimum number of parking spaces for their projects, it will give developers the freedom to build what the market demands without wasting money or space overbuilding.
“That was a way of getting more grass ground, natural areas that could absorb, hold or slow down this runoff, and at the same time, provide retailers, home builders, apartment developers, the opportunity to lower their cost,” he said.
In theory, this means developers could choose not to build parking at all.
Carter pointed to two Charlotte apartment complexes as an example. The Joinery and Cykel apartments are both near light rail stops and have a limited number of parking spots available to residents. Instead, they offer alternative transportation options like ride or bike shares and use the majority of their space for additional housing or amenities.
“Developers know exactly how many parking spaces they need,” Carter said.
In Loftis’s district, Gastonia eliminated parking minimums in 2021. Loftis said it hasn’t eliminated parking altogether but allowed for more choices, for apartment complexes and businesses, especially in denser areas like downtown.
“You don’t have to build 1,000 parking spots,” he said. “You can build 500.”
The bill is currently in the House Transportation Committee and will have to go through two more committees before it makes it to the floor, but Loftis said he’s already gotten a lot of bipartisan interest from those with interests in conservation, building and economic development.
“I’m fully prepared to carry this bill all the way through to seeing it passed and working with the Senate,” Loftis said.
(VIDEO: Homeowner in same house for decades never had runoff problem until new homes went up next door)
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