Press Releases and Newsletters2021-07-29T15:50:07+00:00

Press Releases and Newsletters

Census: Asheville population increased 21 percent in last 10 years (Citizen Times)

ASHEVILLE — Western North Carolina’s largest city grew faster than the state average, according to 2010 U.S. Census data released today.

Asheville’s population increased 21 percent in the last 10 years to 83,393 people, while Buncombe County increased 15.5 percent to 238,318 people.

North Carolina grew 18 percent to 9.5 million people.

Military communities grew slower by half than the rest of the state because of the largest wartime deployment since Vietnam.

Soldiers on the battlefield are part of the state’s total population, which increased 18.4 % to 9.5 million the past 10 years, but they were not including in county-by-county counts.

That means officials in counties such as Cumberland, home to Ft. Bragg, and Wayne, with Pope Air Force Base, will have to deal with a larger-than-expected population at war’s end.

“We want to try to improve the process so that we count deployed persons and we count them to the right area,” said Bob Coats, of the state’s Census coordinator.

Charlotte continued its reign as the state’s largest city with a 35.2 % gain to 731,424 people. Raleigh and the Research Triangle Park continued growth with a 46.3 % increase to 403,892 people.

The growth, Coats said, is part of a trend in the USA of people leaving the Northeast for better climates and jobs in the South.

Union County, near Charlotte, was the fastest growing at 62 % with 201,292 people. Camden County, near the Virginia line, was among the fastest at 45 % with 9,980 people.

Coats said spillover from Charlotte, in the case of Union County, and Newport News and Norfolk, Va., in the case of Camden, are behind the increases as people look for lower priced land in exchange for a longer commute.

Minority groups continued an uptick in the Tar Heel state with Hispanics leading the way at 111 % or 800,120 people. The group is 8.4 % of the population.

The state’s black population increased 17.9 % to 2 million. Its American Indian population increased 22 % to 122,000 and its Asian population grew 83 % to 200,000.

2:50 PM, Mar. 2, 2011 

Written by

Jon Ostendorff

Mayor calls census numbers ‘skewed’ ( Citizen Times)

 The Town of Black Mountain’s mayor, Carl Bartlett, believes the U.S. Census Bureau has understated the 2010 population of Black Mountain.

If he is right, the mistake could cost the town, because Census figures help determine sales tax distributions, road money, and federal aid. The Census showed Black Mountain’s population grew by only 4.5 percent from 2000-2010, after growing 38 percent from 1990 to 2000. The 2010 population count was 7,848.

“You always question it (Census figures), but never have I seen it this skewed,” Bartlett said.The town’s planning director, Elizabeth Teague, also thought the number seemed low.She pointed to North Carolina Data Center projections, which estimated the 2009 population at 8,526.

Her own projections put the town’s population at 9,132. Her projections are based upon the 2000 Census, certificates of occupancy for homes issued by the town since then, and average household size.She attributed the high growth rate in the 1990s to annexation, as well as natural growth, but said the town had very little annexation in the 2000s.“Even so, it’s curious it (the 2010 Census figure) would be so far below what the state data center estimates,” she said.

Teague predicted the town would challenge the figure, and said she would prepare a report for the March 14 board of aldermen meeting.Lisa Cochrane, a spokesperson for the U.S. Census Bureau, said the figure will not be revised unless an official challenge is filed and then approved.She said other towns have begun to inquire about the challenge process, but that there was no indication how many challenges there might be this year. State data is being released in waves, and many state numbers have not been released yet.

After the 2000 Census, 1,180 problems were identified out of 39,000 jurisdictions, but corrections only resulted in a net gain in population of about 2,700 people.

The Census figures have a big impact on the amount of money that flows into local towns, Dave Abernathy, a geography and Geographic Information System (GIS) professor at Warren Wilson College, said.For that reason, many towns will scrutinize the numbers.

“The potential undercount for particular regions… has long been a concern swirling around the Census,” he said. “The Census Bureau goes to great lengths to be as accurate as possible, but of course can never be completely accurate.”Government agencies aren’t the only ones who rely on the information, he said. The figures are used by:

• Businesses looking at where to locate.

• Legislatures redrawing districts.

• Local and state planners trying to anticipate future growth.

• Transportation departments planning road projects.

• Academics researching trends and other issues.

“All these things are dictated by how many people there are and where,” Abernathy said.

 12:49 PM, Mar. 8, 2011 

Written by

Mark Vanderhoff

Black Mountain disputes census count (Citizen Times)

BLACK MOUNTAIN — Mayor Carl Bartlett believes the U.S. Census Bureau has understated Black Mountain’s 2010 population, and town officials said they might challenge the count.

If Bartlett is right, the mistake could cost the town because census figures help determine sales tax distributions, road money and federal aid.

The census showed Black Mountain’s population grew by 4.5 percent from 2000-10, after increasing 38 percent from 1990 to 2000.

The 2010 population count was 7,848.“You always question it (census figures), but never have I seen it this skewed,” Bartlett said.

Black Mountain planning director Elizabeth Teague also thought the number seemed low.

She pointed to N.C. Data Center projections, which estimated the 2009 population at 8,526.

Her own projections put the town’s population at 9,132. That number is based on the 2000 census, certificates of occupancy for homes issued by the town since then and average household size.

Teague attributed the high growth rate in the 1990s to annexation, as well as natural growth but said the town had very little annexation in the 2000s.

“Even so, it’s curious it (the 2010 census figure) would be so far below what the state Data Center estimates,” she said.

Teague predicted the town would challenge the figure and said she would prepare a report for the March 14 Board of Aldermen meeting.

The Census Bureau will consider a change only if Black Mountain files a challenge and it is approved, spokeswoman Lisa Cochrane said.

Other towns have begun to inquire about the challenge process, she said, but there is no indication how many challenges might come this year.

State data are being released in waves, and many state numbers have not yet been released.

After the 2000 census, 1,180 problems were identified out of 39,000 jurisdictions, but corrections resulted in a net gain in population of only about 2,700 people.

The census figures have a big impact on the amount of money that flows into local towns, said Dave Abernathy, a geography and Geographic Information System professor at Warren Wilson College.

For that reason, many towns will scrutinize the numbers.

“The potential undercount for particular regions … has long been a concern swirling around the census,” he said. “The Census Bureau goes to great lengths to be as accurate as possible, but of course can never be completely accurate.”

Government agencies aren’t the only ones who rely on the information, he said.

The figures are used by businesses considering relocating and planners trying to anticipate growth.

Legislators also would look at the census as part of redrawing political districts.

“All these things are dictated by how many people there are and where,” Abernathy said.

 10:03 AM, Mar. 10, 2011 

Written by

Mark Vanderhoff

Wilmington grew more than 40 percent this decade, ranks as eighth largest N.C. city (Star News)

Neglected developments, unemployment and foreclosures. These three economic misfortunes were evident the past few years in southeastern North Carolina’s Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties as they were in many other parts of the state and nation.

But Brunswick County, the 854-square-mile coastal area with 19 municipalities, still ranked as one of the fastest-growing counties in the state and likely the country, according to 2010 Census data released Wednesday afternoon.

And with an eye-opening 600 percent growth spurt, Leland ranks as the fastest growing municipality in the state – with neighboring Belville trailing just behind it.

The county itself ranks second in growth among all 100 counties in the state with a 46.8 percent growth from 2000 to 2010. Union County, near Charlotte, increased its population by 62.7 percent during that time period.

Other local counties posted robust growth, too, with New Hanover’s population growing by 26.4 percent to 202,667 people. Of that total, 106,476 people lived in Wilmington during the 2010 Census, a 40.4 percent increase from the 2000 Census.

That growth moved Wilmington up a notch from the ninth most populous city in the state in 2000 to the eighth in 2010.

Like Leland, a lot of the growth in the Port City was tied to annexation.

And in Pender County, a growth of 27.1 percent since 2000 brought the 2010 population to 52,217 people.

No Surprises

Leland Mayor Walter Futch moved to the town 32 years ago when there were only few stores, including a grocery and a pharmacy.

“If you wanted to get anything you had to go to Wilmington to get it or order it or go somewhere else,” he said. “Now, we have 35 restaurants and a handful of banks.”

And there’s now a Walmart, which was completed in 2007 along with other stores in a shopping center on U.S. 17.

Brunswick County Planning Director Leslie Bell said it was a decade ago when people referred to Leland as a “bedroom community to Wilmington.”

Developers took advantage of that moniker and built homes there, encouraging other developers to do the same.

“I think Leland in its own right has established itself as a center for residential and commercial development,” Bell said.

Magnolia Greens, located off U.S. 17 – the connection between Brunswick County and Wilmington, was built in 1997 and was one of the first major subdivisions close to Wilmington, Futch said.

“When people saw what the possibilities were, then other developers said, ‘Hey this is the place to be,’” he said.

Waterford followed. And the sprawling Brunswick Forest, a multi-phase development just south of Magnolia Greens, opened for sales in 2006.

Looking ahead

Brunswick County officials can’t necessarily look at the past decade as an indicator of future growth.

Building permit applications, for example, are still below average. The number of building permits in February was 18 percent below the same month last year.

“It’s the economy, absolutely,” Bell said.

He added that he believes more people will be attracted to the county’s coastal location, the climate and proximity to larger cities once the economy turns around.

“I also think that once the economy starts to rebound that there’s a tremendous inventory of lots and units that are already ready,” Bell said.

But it’s still unfamiliar territory for county government.

“I don’t know what we can do to spur development,” Bell said. “It goes back to the old question of what can government do to the private market. And we’re limited to what we can do.”

Meanwhile, fast-growing municipalities like Leland are attempting to manage growth while staying flexible in case of further harsh economic times.

“You can’t control growth,” Futch said. “It’s like trying to grab a tiger by the tail and saying you have control of him.”

Any secret lies with managing growth by listening to what the people there want, he added.

By Shannan Bowen

Shannan.Bowen@StarNewsOnline.com

Published: Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at 2:31 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at 6:35 p.m.

Area towns appealing census data due to fears of losing funding (Star News)

There are a lot of numbers floating around since the Census Bureau released its 2010 census redistricting data earlier this month, and not everyone agrees with them.

Officials in a few local municipalities think the population counts for their areas should be higher. Some are concerned towns won’t receive the desired amount of state-appropriated funding, given based on population, to provide services or that it will be tougher to apply for grants if an area doesn’t meet a population threshold.

 Chad Hicks,Oak Island’s assistant town manager, pulled the town’s voter registration roll Monday and discovered there were 5,868 people listed.

Then he looked at the total 2010 Census count, which was 6,783 people. He said the two numbers appeared too close considering not all people over the age of 18 are registered to vote.

“We’re just trying to put together a case,” Hicks said. He’s also examining utility bills and looking at other data to show there might be more people in the town.

Officials in neighboring Southport are doing the same.

Mayor Robert Howardsaid he was disappointed at the census count because annual state population projections showed there should be more people living in the area.

Southport’s population was 2,833, according to the 2010 census, and a 2009 population projection showed 3,143 people.

The state projections are estimates based on a statistical method using the 2000 census count as a base. Growth rates, housing unit data and trends in growth over time are calculated and averaged, giving an estimated population for each municipality, said Jennifer Song, the state’s demographer.

Song said it’s not surprising to see slight differences between the annual projections and the 2010 census count.

 “There’s bound to be some difference,” she said. “The last population count was based on the 2000 census data.”

Song’s heard from several municipal officials who want to challenge the 2010 census data, but she advised them to have proof of the need for corrections other than the state population estimates.

Town officials can appeal to the Census Bureau through a process called “Count Question Resolution.” The Census will accept challenges to the counts of living quarters and people, the recording of boundaries and the placement of living quarters within governmental boundaries.

Corrections were made to dozens of North Carolina municipalities after the 2000 census results.

But the corrected count sometimes added little more. A recount in Kure Beach showed 35 more people, and Belville’s corrected 2000 count showed 78 more people living in the town than the 285 who were counted.

Before any towns can challenge last year’s census data, however, officials must research and gather specific documents detailing reasons for challenging either the location of government boundaries or the location or number of housing units.

Challenges will be accepted June 1 to June 1, 2013, according to a website about the process. That gives municipalities time to discuss whether to move forward with a challenge.

Kure Beach Councilwoman Emilie Swearingen said she questioned the census count for the island town and planned to discuss the issue with her board.

Wrightsville Beach officials questioned the number of housing units when they noticed a decline in the number of units from 2000 to 2010. But Town Manager Bob Simpson said he wasn’t planning to challenge the result unless officials there later decided to do so.

By Shannan Bowen

Shannan.Bowen@StarNewsOnline.com

Published: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 11:32 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 11:32 a.m.

Redistricting could add New Hanover senator (Star News)

New Hanover County could get a second state senator as a result of this year’s redrawing of state legislative districts, a process set to begin in the state capital.

The 2010 U.S. Census determined that the county added 42,360 people since 2000, bringing the population to 202,667. Because it grew more than many other parts of the state, it now has about 12,000 more people than each state Senate district is supposed to have after redistricting, the once-a-decade process of redrawing the state’s 120 House districts and 50 Senate districts based on population fluctuations identified by the census.

Based on the statewide population, the ideal number of people in each Senate district is now 190,710, according to information available on the General Assembly website, www.ncleg.net.

Today, all of New Hanover County is represented by Sen. Thom Goolsby, a Wilmington lawyer in his first term. But for state House and Senate districts, the N.C. Supreme Court has said that no district is supposed to deviate from the average district population size by more than 5 percent. New Hanover’s population is more than 6 percent greater than the ideal population for each Senate district. That means at least a small percentage of New Hanover County voters may get drawn into another district.

“It’s always nice to have extra votes and have a little more clout,” state Rep. Danny McComas, R-New Hanover, the longest-serving member of the Wilmington area’s state delegation, said of the possibility of getting another senator.

Goolsby didn’t say whether he would rather represent all of New Hanover County himself, or have some help. He said he’s “not worried about what’s good for me.”

“My interest is only in seeing that constitutional districts that represent the common interests of the people in those areas are drawn,” he said, echoing statements of other state GOP leaders who will guide the redistricting process this year.

As soon as this week, House and Senate redistricting committees are expected to meet to begin the complex and typically controversial process. Republicans, because they control the House and Senate, will control redistricting. The new legislative maps will be used for the first time in the 2012 elections.

Sen. Bill Rabon, a first-term Republican senator from Brunswick County, is on the Senate redistricting committee. Rep. Carolyn Justice, a Republican who represents Pender and part of northern New Hanover County in the House, is a member of the House committee. She will take the place of McComas, who was originally named to the committee.

Rabon’s current district – Brunswick, Columbus and Pender counties – is also too large now because of the combined population growth in those counties the past decade. District 8 now includes 217,746 people – 14 percent, or about 27,000 people, more than the ideal district population count.

Exactly how the General Assembly will redraw district boundaries to account for the increases is anyone’s guess. Local legislators didn’t want to speculate too much about how new districts may be drawn.

Rabon, a Southport veterinarian, said he believed his home county of Brunswick, with a population of 107,431 people, wouldn’t get split up.

“Brunswick is going to be whole,” he said. “It’s just a matter of who we’re going to be with.”

In the House, New Hanover will keep at least three seats, as it has now. After redistricting, each House district is supposed to have about 79,462 people.

Today, District 19, McComas’ district, which includes the three beach towns and parts of eastern Wilmington and southern New Hanover County, has more than 88,000 people, meaning his district will have to be redrawn to include about 9,000 fewer residents. McComas hinted at how he would like his new district to look.

“Having my choice, I would very much want to keep representing the beach communities, which I have always represented and I have a keen interest in and a passion for,” McComas said.

Rep. Susi Hamilton’s District 18 includes downtown Wilmington and parts of northern New Hanover County to the Pender County border. That district grew during the past 10 years, but must add about 6,600 residents to get to the ideal district population.

Hamilton said she didn’t know how the political makeup of her district might change. She said she considered herself a moderate Democrat who did well among Republican voters in 2010. And if she had to decide today, she would run for re-election in 2012.

Hamilton also said she didn’t believe the Republicans in charge of the process would try to break up the large contingent of African-American, typically Democratic, voters in her district.

“It would be wrong,” she said.

In drawing districts, lawmakers must abide by certain rules required by law and the courts, including protecting minority voting strength and minimizing the division of counties.

District 16, held by Rep. Carolyn Justice, a Pender County Republican, includes a swath of northeastern New Hanover, along with all of Pender.

That district grew by nearly 38 percent during the past decade to 93,684 residents, meaning it will have to shed about 14,000 people through redistricting. But Pender County, with a population of 52,217, isn’t large enough to get its own House district, so part of a neighboring county would make up the difference if Pender is kept whole.

Justice doesn’t plan to run for re-election in 2012, but as a redistricting committee member, she will have a voice in the district her successor runs in. She didn’t want to speculate on how the districts will shape up.

“I am a strong, strong defender of this being an open, honest process that follows the rules,” she said.

In Brunswick County, Rep. Frank Iler’s District 17, which includes most of the county, grew 47 percent and now has about 15,000 too many people. That means whoever represents Brunswick’s other House district – currently Democratic Rep. Dewey Hill – likely will pick up more residents in the county.

McComas commented on the complexity of redrawing the boundaries of 170 House and Senate districts.

“Thank God for computers,” he said.

By Patrick Gannon

Published: Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 3:12 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 3:12 p.m.

Statesville may dispute census figures (Charlotte Observer)

2010 U.S. count turns up 10% fewer people than expected from state estimates.

Statesville officials will investigate and may challenge U.S. Census figures that count significantly fewer city residents than they had expected.

According to the census, Statesville’s population is 24,532, some 10percent smaller than city officials expected based on estimates from the N.C. Office of State Budget and Management.

“We tanked in this census, especially in comparison with other cities of our size, and, frankly, that just doesn’t seem right to me,” Planning Director David Currier said. “I plan to carefully analyze the census data to see what happened.”

Currier said he was especially anxious to review the block-by-block data census officials used. That information should be available to the city by the end of this month.

Under federal law, data for all states must be released by April 1, one year after census day.

Currier said state estimates for other Iredell County communities were within a few percentage points of the census counts, and that an estimate for the city would have placed Statesville’s population at about 27,320, far higher than the census claims.

City officials are very concerned over the census figure, since funding for many programs and services is based on population. The state distributes sales tax revenue, for example, based on population, as it does 75percent of road improvement spending provided by the state’s Powell Bill.

“We’ll be very anxious to hear the results of your findings,” Mayor Costi Kutteh told Currier at the city council’s March 7 meeting.

The city can challenge the census figures beginning June 1, according to Robert Bernstein of the Census Bureau’s Public Information Office in Washington, D.C.

A challenge would start with an informal exchange of information between the Census Bureau and the city. If they can’t agree, the city can request a formal appeal, including a hearing.

The city council took the following other actions at the March 7 meeting:

Approved the site plan for a new 5,000-square-foot Sherwin Williams store on U.S. 21 (Sullivan Road) just south of Interstate 40.

Granted a special use permit to the Martin Marietta Co. allowing it to begin upgrading its stone, sand and gravel manufacturing plant just north of I-40 on Quarry Road in Statesville.

Agreed that the city will take over maintenance responsibility for Crossroads Drive, a private road between Taco Bell and Bojangles’ on U.S. 21. The road has been riddled with potholes, and an investigation by city officials at the request of council member Jap Johnson revealed that a planned city takeover of the road in the 1990s never occurred, due to an “administrative oversight.”

By Dave Vieser
Special Correspondent Posted: Sunday, Mar. 13, 2011

Indian Trail leads Union in population (Charlotte Observer)

Suburban growth

Here are local 2010 population figures, and the growth rate from 2000.

The statewide growth rate was 18 percent.

Union County: 201,292; 63 percent.

Fairview: 3,324; 33 percent*.

Hemby Bridge: 1,520; 7 percent**.

Indian Trail: 33,518; 185 percent**.

Lake Park: 3,422; 63 percent.

Marshville: 2,402; 2 percent.

Marvin: 5,579; 437 percent.

Matthews: 27,198; 23 percent (Mecklenburg).

Mineral Springs: 2,639; 93 percent.

Mint Hill: 22,722; 46 percent** (Mecklenburg).

Monroe: 32,797; 25 percent.

Stallings: 13,831; 336 percent**.

Unionville: 5,929; 24 percent.

Waxhaw: 9,859; 276 percent.

Weddington: 9,459; 41 percent.

Wesley Chapel: 7,463; 193 percent.

Wingate: 3,491; 45 percent.

 Notes:

* Fairview incorporated in 2002. The census counted its population in 2000 as a “census designated place;” the growth rate compares data for the town in 2010 with the designated place numbers of 2000.

** Growth rate calculated with numbers that followed an appeal of the 2000 Census count.

Source: Observer analysis of data from U.S. Census Bureau, N.C. Office of State Budget and Management.

Union County’s status as the state’s fastest-growing county over the past decade has been fueled in part by growth in its western region and also by an influx of Latinos, an Observer analysis of new census data shows.

As of the most recent census figures, Union County’s growth rate stood at 63 percent as its population broke the 200,000-mark.

Indian Trail claimed the mantle of the county’s most populous municipality, while other towns along the Mecklenburg-Union county line also continued to see robust growth. In fact, the Observer analysis found the 2010 combined population of Indian Trail, Stallings, Matthews and Mint Hill approached 100,000 people, representing an 85 percent growth rate over the past decade.

 Indian Trail, which surged passed Monroe in population, nearly tripled its number of residents to 33,518 people.

 “We’re glad to see the census validated what we’ve known all along,” Indian Trail Town Manager Joe Fivas said last week.

As a result of some annexations in the early part of the decade coupled with the emergence of many new subdivisions, the new ranking did not come as a surprise to Fivas.

Quality of life, good public schools and a low tax rate keep people coming to the town, Fivas said.

He’s also hopeful the census data will convince some real-estate brokers to give Indian Trail a second look. The town needs more restaurants, entertainment and hospitality options.

 And while Fivas does not expect Indian Trail to maintain its blistering growth rate, he does expect growth to continue. The town’s comprehensive plan predicts a population of 60,000-80,000 in the next 20 years, he said.

In Monroe, city Planning Director Lisa Stiwinter said she was not surprised by the change in population ranking. Indian Trail’s proximity to Charlotte made the move almost inevitable, she said.

Stiwinter said she did not think the change would have an impact on development in Monroe. The way the economy is going now, she said, there’s not a lot of development going on anywhere in the area.

Union County’s growth rate reflected the overall health of the Charlotte metro area, said Bob Coats, the governor’s Census Bureau liaison. He did not anticipate a huge drop-off for the county in the coming years.

But like most places in the region, Union County has seen a significant slowdown in growth over the past couple of years as the recession deepened. County commissioners Chairman Jerry Simpson expects to see that trend continue, adding that a slower growth rate should lead to more manageable growth.

 Other Union County highlights of the decennial census include:

Countywide, the number of Latinos nearly tripled, marking the largest Latino growth rate in the Charlotte region. Some 21,000 Latinos live in Union County, slightly more than 10 percent of the population.

Nearly 1 in 3 residents in Monroe is Latino. A decade ago, about 1 in 5 city residents were Latino.

The county’s white and black populations decreased slightly between 2000 and 2010. The county is 79 percent white, 12 percent black and nearly 2 percent Asian, with the rest Native American, Native Hawaiian or multiracial. (Hispanic/Latino is counted as an ethnicity, not a race.)

The number of county residents identifying themselves as multiracial tripled, and now stands at 3,871. The 2000 Census was the first time people were given the choice of checking a category as being of two or more races.

Marvin, Stallings, Waxhaw and Wesley Chapel, along with Indian Trail, all had triple-digit growth rates.

Union County grew at more than three times the rate of North Carolina.

While Union was the fastest growing of North Carolina’s 100 counties between 2000 and last year, it ranked fourth for its 1990-2000 growth rate.

Posted: Sunday, Mar. 13, 2011

By Adam Bell

Population growth slows in Catawba Valley (Charlotte Observer)

Increase in four-county area is only about half of normal growth, Census shows.

Population growth in the four-county Hickory area was only about 40 percent of what it was a decade ago, another sign the recession continues to pound the region.After seeing a 16.9 percent increase in residents between 1990 and 2000, new census data for the Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir Metropolitan Statistical Area shows only a 6.9 percent increase from 2000 to 2010.

Blame the economy, said John Tippett, planning director for the Western Piedmont Council of Governments, which analyzes census data for the region.Population is still growing, but sometimes it creeps and sometimes it leaps, mirroring the economy is this area, where manufacturing has gone through bust-and-boom cycles.The area is now in tough economic straits because of declines in the furniture and textile industries and has an unemployment rate of 12.4 percent, one of the highest in the state.

The same high-and-low population growth cycle hit the area during the 1980s, when another major recession sent residents looking elsewhere for jobs.Here is a look at the recent regional population trends, according to the U.S. Census. The combined numbers are for Catawba, Caldwell, Alexander and Burke counties:

1980: +18.9 percent

1990: +8.1 percent

2000: +16.9 percent

2010: + 6.9 percent

Planners in North Carolina generally expect to see a growth rate of 1 to 1.5 percent annually, which would amount to a 10 to 15 percent population increase between the federal censuses, which is done every decade.By that standard, the region grew about half the expected rate.

The state as a whole grew 19 percent – more than twice the rate in the Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir MSA.Mecklenburg County, by comparison, grew 32.2 percent and Union County – a booming commuting suburb for Charlotte jobs, grew almost 63 percent. Gaston, also hurt by job losses, grew only 8.3 percent.”The loss of jobs, primarily in manufacturing, is behind the slow growth,” Tippett said. “When jobs go away, people go away.”

He said planners were relieved the region did not lose population, although a handful of small towns in the four-county MSA did.”Despite all the job losses we’ve had, to end up in the positive (growth) column is pretty good,” Tippett said.The 1990s were a strong-growth period, especially in Catawba, where Hickory is located. That county saw its population increase almost 20 percent as the fiber-optic industry grew, bringing with it more homes and more ancillary service jobs.

Now, however, the labor force has shrunk by 15,127 jobs since the recession hit about 2 1/2 years ago, said Taylor Dellinger, data analyst with the council of governments.Other trends documented in the new census numbers are a decline in percentage of white residents in the region and a growth in Hispanics.There are more white residents in each of the four counties than 10 years ago, but their percentage of the entire population has declined, dropping from 92 percent in 2000 to 89.6 percent in 2010 in Alexander County. In Catawba County, whites dropped from 85 percent in 2000 to 81.7 percent in 2010.

Hispanics grew by about 2 percentage points in the four counties, ranging currently from a low of 4.3 percent in Alexander County to a high of 8.4 percent in Catawba.The percentage of black residents stayed roughly the same, ranging from 4.9 percent in Caldwell County to 8.4 percent in Catawba.

By Dianne Straley
Posted: Sunday, Mar. 13, 2011

N.C. DOT wants toll lane on boulevard (Charlotte Observer)

 

The N.C. Department of Transportation said Monday it wants to allow drivers from the Monroe Connector/Bypass to continue paying a toll all the way to uptown Charlotte – via a new toll lane on Independence Boulevard.

This summer, the state is planning to start building the 21-mile Monroe toll road, which will connect east Union County to the Interstate 485 outerbelt, where the toll road will end.But Transportation Secretary Gene Conti told the Charlotte City Council Monday that it makes sense to add one new lane to Independence Boulevard, which could be used as a toll lane.

Some cities have built so-called HOT lanes, which allow drivers to pay a toll and be guaranteed a certain speed. Some HOT lanes – high-occupancy toll lanes – are free to people carpooling.

The Monroe Connector/Bypass would be a toll lane for everyone, and it’s unclear if the state is proposing to build a HOT lane or regular toll lane for Independence.

Also this summer, the DOT will begin converting a small section of Independence from Sharon Amity Road to Conference Drive into an expressway. That would leave six miles of Independence that would still be a regular highway with traffic lights before reaching the outerbelt.

Barry Moose, a division engineer with the DOT, said those six miles are more than a decade away from being converted to an expressway. But he said he believes the opening of the Monroe toll road would create a “perfect storm” of interest, increasing support for the project.

The state has recently ranked those six miles of Independence as the second-most important highway project in the state, after replacing the Interstate 85 bridge over the Yadkin River.

The council’s talk about extending a toll lane into Mecklenburg County was part of an overall discussion about the Independence corridor.

The Urban Land Institute has recommended that instead of building light-rail in the median of Independence, the state and the Charlotte Area Transit System build a busway. The busway lanes would also be used for high-occupancy toll lanes.

Before the council meeting, Moose also said he has recently begun thinking about how to reconfigure the busiest stretch of road in the state: Interstate 77 from uptown Charlotte south to I-485.

That section – which carries more than 160,000 cars daily – has only three lanes in each direction, and little room to expand. Moose said the state has recently hired a consultant to brainstorm the best way to expand the highway.

Moose said it’s unlikely the DOT could afford to expand the highway in a traditional way, by expanding the footprint of the highway and adding a general-purpose lane in each direction.

“I don’t think that’s feasible,” Moose said. “The cost of land is too high.”

Moose said the state would likely build HOT lanes to help pay for construction. One possibility: Building two lanes above the current highway and the existing east-west overpass bridges. Whatever option the state chooses will likely cost at least $1 billion, Moose said.

By Steve Harrison

sharrison@charlotteobserver.com

Posted: Tuesday, Mar. 08, 2011

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