Dear Members of the North Carolina General Assembly,

We, the undersigned, support House Bill 369, the Parking Lot Reform and Modernization Act. We urge you to support this bill and help advance this legislation which addresses urgent water quality, public health, and business concerns in our state.

Did you know that just one inch of rainfall on an acre of impervious surface, like a parking lot which prevents water from soaking into the ground, generates 27,000 gallons of runoff? Much of this runoff rushes into our waterways, carrying pollutants and worsening flooding, erosion, and water quality in our communities. The Parking Lot Reform and Modernization Act aims to reduce this runoff and flooding, protect the health and character of our communities, and support business growth across the state.

HB369 proposes three key changes: first, removing parking minimum requirements for developments, which will reduce unnecessary pavement and business costs; second, banning the future use of harmful pavement sealants containing high amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, toxic contaminants that pose risks to both human health and the environment; and third, allowing certain local governments to improve runoff requirements for redevelopment sites, helping to reduce runoff and flooding in North Carolina communities.

We support this bill because:

- We want to see parking lots reflect market demands, not antiquated and baseless regulations. Excessive parking increases costs and prices, fragments communities, encourages sprawl, and harms natural areas.

- We don’t want to see my community be overrun by sprawl and lose its character.

- We want to see parking lots turned from barren wastelands into productive and thriving properties.

- We want to see toxic chemicals removed from my community where they threaten the health of my family, friends, and environment in favor of safer, equally priced alternatives.

- We want flooding and runoff reduced in my community by improving runoff management during the redevelopment process.

- We want to protect North Carolina farmland and crops from urban runoff.

Thank you for your time and consideration. We hope you will support this legislation.

Your Constituents