'By The Book' is no way to grow our city

The last thing a commercial developer or enterprising entrepreneur wants to hear from municipal planners is that projects are appraised and processed “by the book.”

Our guess is that what they’d love to hear instead is, “What will it take? Let’s make it happen.”

For better or worse, right or wrong, we are told regularly, frequently in fact, without prompting, from those who want to contribute to area economic progress, that Morganton is difficult to do business with.

We hear it from local business owners who have been in operation for years and seek simple changes like a new sign, from out-of-towners hoping to create an economic future for themselves, from corporate managers, small businesses, large businesses, builders, contractors, developers, and real estate investors.

These comments are not new. We’ve listened to the frustration long before Hurricane Helene and the resulting extraordinary workload the devastation placed on City leaders. Indeed, Morganton’s leadership deserves accolades for their dedication to recovery.

The voiced frustration about development processes reaches back to late 2022 when we toured the county asking what a new local newspaper should cover. The topic regularly came up in Morganton meetings.

Fairly or unfairly, perceived allegiance to “By the Book” and resistance to accommodation is blamed, in large part anyway, for the lack of growth across our charming city.

“I know they like to do things by the book and follow rules, and I really appreciate that,” said the newest member of Morganton’s Development and Design Services department recently when she joined the team. “I think that’s how things should be done.”

That was not good news to those interested in bringing business and housing to Morganton.

Aside from By-the-Book tunnel vision, developers frequently cite a lack of urgency, even an element of sluggishness, to advance projects. They say progress is continually slowed and encumbered by layers upon layers of aged rules and regulations that do not fit today’s needs. They complain that these dated restrictions require laborious navigation and project revision.

One developer with decades of extensive statewide experience was asked what municipality in the region is easy to work with. The answer was immediate: “Hickory, Marion, Shelby, Ashboro, Lincolnton, Conover. … They are super receptive.”

Those communities, developers tell us, share a visible and inviting pro-business attitude, a demonstrated sense of urgency, and an ease of doing business that is absent and longed for in Morganton.

“I continue to hear frustration at all levels in Morganton. You can’t do this, you can’t do that. I don’t understand it,” a developer told us recently.

We live in an era — an increasingly challenging and rapidly evolving era — where options and flexibility win every time over restrictions and resistance. Adaptability and accommodation take the podium.

Gone are the dictatorial days when municipalities laid down the business and housing development laws and demanded compliance. That is an attitude developers tell us they encounter time after time in Morganton.

Perhaps worse, they say, if there is flexibility and accommodation, it is quietly dispensed with the feel of inexplicable favoritism.

We acknowledge the challenging dilemma of preserving character and heritage while meeting demanding and forward-thinking growth. We endorse Morganton leaders’ intent to maintain the small southern town charm of Morganton.

Morganton leaders and residents alike have the same goals: A robust and vibrant downtown; a strong selection and variety of eateries and businesses with character; a successful environment in which business can thrive; a fun, open and inviting place to live, work, play, and prosper for everyone.

We live in a time when entrepreneurial challenges are significant enough as it is without having to face mandate after mandate, ordinance after ordinance, guideline after guideline that, to interested Morganton observers, is a barrier to progress. That dated attitude, they say, blocks visionary creativity that feeds the future instead of reflecting the past.

Make no mistake about it: We cherish Morganton, believe in its potential, applaud its citizenry, respect its leadership, and take enormous pride in its heritage and history. We support smart growth that is simultaneously reflective and forward thinking.

It is time Morganton demonstrates a more visible proactive and adaptive approach to growth by loosening its grip on control and opening its arms to accommodation.