ABLEISTS ARE TOXIC

AND EVERY BIT AS LOATHSOMELY BIGOTED AS RACISTS

Why do ableists think it is the duty of people with disabilities, or their allies, to fix the built environment?

Every time I post a picture of neglected landscaping blocking sidewalk accessibility, I get "If it bothers you, why don't you trim it." snotty response.

Many find requests for the basic dignity/civil rights of wheelchair access so offensive, that they demonize the person requesting them.

No one would tell a burglarized person to become police and solve it.

But underscore a barrier and they scream at you to fix it yourself.

Diminishing the needs of people with disabilities is ableism.

Ableism is toxic.

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Kristy Gore is a Charleston Area REALTOR® and Civic Leaders Academy alum who serves on the Berkeley County Planning and Zoning Commission.

She is running for South Carolina House District 99, gearing up for the primary.

“Most of my platform is tax reform and infrastructure.

We are in an infrastructure crisis, so we must reallocate money for roads and bridges,” she said, saying fiscally conservative policy can reduce tax burden while redirecting funds to pay for the basics.

Gore said she learned to navigate difficult decisions while reviewing controversial developments during her year and a half on the planning and zoning commission.

“A planning vote recently dealt with a medium-sized commercial parcel that backed up to residential.

I have become very familiar with wetlands in my real estate career. 

I have seen individual homeowners end up paying dearly for planning and zoning decisions done poorly.

I voted against a plan to change the zoning for that commercial plan,” Gore said, noting that the plan ultimately was approved.

A no vote can cause a developer to pay attention more to neighborhood flooding concerns.

She said a developer can revise a plan, creating less concrete lot coverage and more on-site ponds, before a council gives its final approval.

“We have to be responsible in our development. 

The leadership class was very eye opening.”

 

 

 

 

 

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Greater Charleston is experiencing exponential growth. It also welcomes eight million visitors per year, a big driver of the economy. Academy participants learn how to balance both permanent resident and tourism growth.

“Healthy tourism keeps taxes low,” Dix noted. “Good schools, a fire and police presence and sustaining healthy communities are the things buyers and sellers focus on. 

We are teaching that the beauty of local government is paving roads, picking up trash, and maintaining and improving the quality of life.”

Because Charleston has one of the richest architectural histories in the nation, the academy also teaches about how to protect the skyline and how to evaluate redevelopment that is sensitive to historic districts.

Participants learn about accessory dwelling units, missing middle housing, other diverse, affordable housing types, and that higher density does not have to mean taller buildings.

Missing middle housing includes duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and bungalows as well as cluster homes and cottage courts.

The academy is very hands on about preparing people to run for election. 

Many of its graduates serve on boards and commissions as well as in elective office. 

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Seasoned elected officials share their experience with The Civic Leaders Academy in South Carolina.

Experts from municipalities lecture on the flow of a zoning application from an advisory board to a board of appeals to a council for final vote.

“We try to teach you the nuts and bolts of running for office — polling data reading, putting a team together and strategy for campaigning,” Josh Dix, consulting advisor to CTAR’s CEO, said.

“We also explain how parliamentary procedure works. 

If you want to be on a board or commission, parliamentary is a key tool.”

 

 

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

The Civic Leaders Academy in greater Charleston features classes of about 15 to 20 professionals learning about land use and planning practices.

The first class graduated in 2021.

One course session is a trip to Columbia to meet with legislators and heads of key state departments.

Participants learn about financing, policy and how land-use decisions can sometimes wind up in the court system.

The class is educating land-use decision-makers to vote based on sound planning.

“We were having a hard time when projects came to the planning commission or council. There really wasn’t a REALTOR® voice in those projects.

Projects were approved or denied for reasons that were not justified,” said Josh Dix, consulting advisor to CTAR’s CEO.

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

In South Carolina, The Civic Leaders Academy teaches participants about the government’s role in community development, economic prosperity, transportation and infrastructure.

The Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS® (CTAR), the Charleston Home Builders Association and the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce partnered to create a knowledge base that prepares active community members for elected office, as well as appointments to planning and advisory boards.

 

 

 

 

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Kim Rueben, formerly a senior advisor, Fiscal Systems at the Lincoln Institute,  said some cities will look to Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to build transit stops, capturing the increased value around the station and dedicating it to paying off bonds that funded the transit extension.

She said some areas are looking at a series of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) to fund some capital costs, but it may be difficult to convince property owners to the additional self-taxing that comes via a BID, as those may be downtown businesses already hurting from the shift to remote work and hybrid work from home.