Eastside neighbors wrestle with transit tax pros and cons

CHARLOTTE AREA TRANSIT SYSTEM

The CityLynx Gold Line, which tracks east to west, has brought new development to neglected eastside neighborhoods as well as debate over displacement in lower-income communities.

Editor’s note: Part of a series on Charlotte transit and its connection to the region’s future.

What could November’s proposed 1-cent sales tax referendum mean for east Charlotte?

One of the rail enhancements is a proposed expansion of the 10-mile CityLynx Gold Line streetcar route from Eastland Community Transit Center in the east to Rosa Parks Community Transit Center in the west. The 37-stop route, which launched in 2015, includes cultural and education destinations and major employers in Center City, including Novant Health Presbyterian and Central Piedmont Community College in the Elizabeth neighborhood to the east and Johnson C. Smith University in Historic West End.

In July, North Carolina lawmakers passed the Projects for Advancing Vehicle Infrastructure Enhancements, or PAVE, Act, which allows Mecklenburg County voters to adopt the sales tax increase to fund transit improvements over the next 30 years. If approved, Charlotte Area Transit System officials project just under $20 billion in revenue, which will be used to buy new buses, hire drivers, add benches and shelters to bus stops, and initiatives like crosswalks and pavement markings. Rail projects will receive 40% of projected revenue. 

In recent years, residents and community groups have raised questions about sustainability and equity as part of public transit expansion. Communities spotlighted for historical disinvestment, like Charlotte’s six Corridors of Opportunity, might face significant impacts if the referendum passes. One of those corridors, Albemarle/Central Avenue, is home to immigrant communities established in the early 21st century.

Residents in the Corridors of Opportunity are often stuck between a rock and a hard place. Lack of economic opportunity have led to concerns about crime and concentrated poverty, while more investment could lead to displacement and gentrification by pricing working-class and elderly homeowners out of their neighborhoods. 

Juan Diego “J.D.” Mazuera Arias, the Democratic nominee for Charlotte City Council’s District 5 seat, has been critical of the referendum. In a statement to WBTV, Arias determined “as written, this plan is inequitable and regressive.” Arias said Albemarle/Central is home to a large swath of low-income Black and brown families with average household incomes under $56,000 while adding safety is a major concern for residents.  

Other referendum critics include the local Housing Justice Coalition, Robert Dawkins, political director of non-profit organization Action NC, and co-chair of North Carolina Poor People’s Campaign Bishop William J. Barber II. 

In a membership newsletter, Housing Justice Coalition wrote that “Charlotte’s working class would bear the full weight of the cost.” The organization was critical that “real estate lawyer Larry Shaheen helped craft” the PAVE Act, which requires that a new transit authority be made, wherein “three of the appointees from Charlotte must be handpicked by an entity like the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance.” 

“This, once again, would leave transit decisions in the hands of unaccountable appointees, many of whom will have ties to real estate development,” the newsletter read.
Dawkins told The Post the Gold Line “is a tool of development and not mobility.” 

“The Gold Line will help gentrify one of the most diverse areas of Charlotte into a cookie cutter collection of coffee shops, microbreweries and dry cleaners, but do little for the average resident except displace them,” he wrote. 

Dawkins pointed to Eastland Yards’ sticker price: “Starting in the mid $500,000s? That’s not for original eastside residents.” 
Eastland Yards is a senior-living residential development with an outdoor and indoor sportsplex that has already received $41 million in investment from the city.

CATS officials assured reporters last month that 30% of the referendum’s estimated revenue would come from people who live outside Mecklenburg County. 

State Rep. Jordan Lopez, whose House district includes east Charlotte, told The Post the tax could add an estimated $180-$240 to families’ annual tax bills and “does have a real impact on families.” 

“It’s a tricky conversation to have,” said Lopez, who supported the PAVE Act. He cited safety improvements that could be generated through the referendum, like sidewalks and pavement markings for bike lanes, since the area has some of the highest incidence rates for bike collisions. 

Lopez also recalls that when the Gold Line was developed, closures to storefronts along the route caused issues for small business owners. He looks forward to Eastland Yards’ sports facilities opening as another push for connectivity. 

“It’s a massive infrastructure project,” Lopez said. “How soon will people be able to feel the impact of this is not a question I get very often.”

Greg Asciutto, executive director of CharlotteEAST, a non-profit advocacy group for eastside communities, highlighted opportunities for economic mobility, noting more small businesses have acquired properties in recent months than closed. 

“Business is booming,” he said. 

Asciutto told The Post negative impacts of rail construction possibly won’t be seen for another 15 years. The improved connectivity coming from the Better Bus plan would also offset the decline caused by closure of Eastland Mall, which was a retail anchor to satellite communities and businesses in the area.     

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