City of Fayetteville – Taking Surveys on Downtown Parking

MEDIA RELEASE

Kevin V. Arata, Corporate Communications Director

Release: IMMEDIATE           Contact: Nathan Walls, Public Information Specialist

Date: 6/20/2018                      Phone: (910) 433-1710 (desk), (910) 728-5943 (cell)

 

Residents Encouraged to Comment on Downtown Parking

 

(Fayetteville, N.C.) — The City of Fayetteville has begun collecting data and seeking public input for the downtown parking study. The public has an opportunity to offer input this Friday, June 22 in front of 222 Hay St. from 9-11 a.m. and 6-8 p.m. During this initial public involvement period, input will be collected through stakeholder committee meetings, public forum opportunities, as well as, an electronic survey.

 

Residents are encouraged to participate in the electronic survey, which may be accessed at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Parking_Fayetteville.

 

The parking study will evaluate current/future parking demands, regulations and perform comparisons to Fayetteville’s peer cities within North Carolina while considering the multi-modal nature of the downtown area. The City received a Revitalization and Economic Development Grant to conduct this downtown parking study.

 

The study was awarded to Walker Consultants of Charlotte and began in May 2018.  The study is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The stakeholder committee consists of various contacts from City and County governments, downtown businesses and residents, the Cool Spring Downtown District, Chamber of Commerce and Historic Properties Division.

 

 

City of Fayetteville – Taking Applications for Boards & Commissions

The City of Fayetteville is currently taking applications for various boards and commissions.  These are volunteer positions.  Applicants can follow the link below to fill out the application or contact the Longleaf Pine Associations government affairs department.

Seats Available:

Planning Commission

Animal Control

the Public Works Commission

Fayetteville Cumberland Human Relations Commission

Application Deadline:  July 31

To Apply: Applications

 

CALL FOR ACTION FROM THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®!

CALL FOR ACTION!
REALTORS®

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) will expire on July 31, denying necessary insurance coverage to homeowners and buyers in more than 20,000 communities nationwide. Congress must act now to reform and extend the NFIP.

Urge Congress to extend the NFIP and pass meaningful reforms to ensure long-term viability of the program

TAKE ACTION NOW!

NAR Supports:

  • Reauthorizing and gradually strengthening the NFIP so it is sustainable over the long run;
  • Encouraging the development of private market options to offer comparable flood insurance coverage at lower cost than NFIP;
  • Providing federal assistance to high-risk property owners, including guaranteed loans, grants and buyouts in order to build to higher standards and keep insurance rates affordable;
  • Provide fair flood insurance rates that better reflect the property’s flood risk;
  • Improving flood map accuracy, so fewer property owners have to file expensive appeals.

Tell Congress to EXTEND NFIP and PASS Flood Insurance Reform

Thank you for your support on this important issue!

NC REALTORS® Legislative Days – Raleigh, NC

North Carolina REALTORS® convened in Raleigh this month to discuss legislative issues and meet with their North Carolina delegation.  Longleaf Pine REALTORS met with the Cumberland, Hoke and Lee county delegation.  The following 2018 Legislative Talking Points were discussed.

To view the talking points in their entirety → 2018LegislativeHandout

  1.  Improve the States Infrastructure – Improve the requirements for developers to ensure that roads can be brought up to NCDOT standards for acceptance into the state system for future maintenance.  Develop a statewide roads database which clearly lists a road’s designation and maintenance responsibility that is easily accessible by consumers.  House Bill 457 is currently sitting in the Senate Rules Committee.
  2. Support Property Managers – House Bill 1040 allows summary ejectment claims to be served by a private process server when returned unexecuted by the sheriff.  Allows the plaintiff in a summary ejectment to utilize a private process server in counties with populations of 900,000 or greater.
  3. Affordable Healthcare for Small Businesses and Independent Contractors – North Carolina should amend the law to allow small business owners and independent contractors to get health insurance through an Association Health Plan.

REALTORS® also thanked legislators for…

  • continued support of the Housing Trust Fund
  • continued support of the Workforce Housing Loan Program
  • continued support of Disaster Relief Funding
  • continued support of the State’s Film Grant Program
  • making needed changes to the sales tax law to end the confusion around the taxation of property management services

NAR Legislative Meetings – Washington, D.C.

REALTORS® from across the country gathered in Washington D.C. to discuss federal real estate issues with House and Senate Representatives.  Longleaf Pine REALTORS® met with Senators Richard Burr & Thom Tillis, Congressmen Richard Hudson, and David Price.

The 2018 Legislative Talking Points:

Support Strong Net Neutrality Protections – Congress must enact common sense “rules of the road” that will ensure the internet is an open, competitive place for consumers and for businesses.  REALTORS® told their reprenstatives to support The 21st Century Internet Act

National flood Insurance Program – REALTORS thanked the House for passing HR 2874, The 21st Century Flood Reform Act, that would reform and reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program for five years.  REALTORS® urged the Senate to take up HR 2874 to avoid a program lapse on July 31, 2018

Tax Policy – REALTORS® reminded members of Congress and their staffs that healthy real estate markets are key to sustained economic growth.

Equal Access to Housing Opportunities – REALTORS® secured a victory in Congress in 2016 with legislation to ease FHA condominium condominium rules.  However, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has yet to implement these changes.  REALTORS® urged Congress to make HUD implement these changes.

To view the full 2018 Legislative Talking Points..click below

https://www.nar.realtor/political-advocacy/federal-advocacy/2018-advocacy-agenda

 

National Association of REALTORS Responds to Dodd-Frank Changes

NAR Cheers Effort to Ease Restrictions on Small Banks

Daily Real Estate News | Wednesday, May 23, 2018

The U.S. House passed a bipartisan bill on Tuesday that will roll back some of the strict rules placed on thousands of small- and medium-sized banks enacted as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law.

“We commend members of Congress for passing this bipartisan legislation to level the lending playing field for community banks and credit unions,” says NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall. “This bill provides appropriate consumer protections while going a long way toward removing undue regulatory burdens on small lenders, which will help keep them strong, so they can help keep communities strong.

The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act contains several provisions that could ease mortgage credit through reduced regulatory burdens on smaller community banks and credit unions. Prior to Congress’ vote, the National Association of REALTORS® sent a letter to the House Representatives to express its support for the bill. The association says having safe, affordable mortgage credit available from small, local lenders is key to a thriving housing market.

The bill also contained several other provisions related to housing. For example, it would require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to evaluate and consider credit innovations, like adopting alternative credit scoring models. Currently, the mortgage giants’ credit scoring models do not take into account factors such as whether borrowers have paid their rent or utility bills on time. NAR advocates that adopting newer, more predictive and inclusive credit scoring models could help expand access to mortgage credit and homeownership to first-time borrowers and those who have limited credit histories.

The bill also gives the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection the authority to regulate Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, loans and requires lenders to corroborate a homeowners’ ability to repay the loans that are levied as tax assessments on their homes. Currently, PACE loans are not required to conform to ability-to-repay standards or certain consumer home mortgage disclosures. As such, some borrowers may enter into contracts for these loans to make energy efficiency upgrades without fully understanding the impact on the future resale of their property, NAR notes.

The association says the commercial real estate market will also benefit from the bill. Congress provided clarity on some requirements of commercial lending, such as those imposed upon acquisition, development, and construction loans. The bill also excludes manufactured housing retailers and sellers from the definition of a loan originator (as long as they don’t receive compensation for the loan application).

The bill now heads to President Trump for his final signature.

Source: National Association of REALTORS® and “Congress Approves First Big Dodd-Frank Rollback,” The New York Times (May 22, 2018)