Gastonia council adopts TIA policy changes and approves Southeast corridor study after developers raise grandfathering concerns

Gastonia City Council on Jan. 21 adopted changes to the city’s Transportation Impact Analysis (TIA) policy and approved a contract for a Southeast Gastonia (Union Road/Union–New Hope) corridor study, moves council members and staff said are intended to make traffic impacts clearer before rezonings are approved.

Council members voted unanimously to amend the TIA policy to require mitigation-measures agreements tied to rezoning so that traffic impacts and responsible mitigation are documented up front. Later in the meeting the council voted 5–1 to award the Southeast area transportation study contract to Kimley-Horn and Associates for $204,600.

The measures aim to give planning staff, the planning commission and City Council a single, shared set of traffic assumptions before development entitlements are granted. Proponents said the changes reduce the risk of ad hoc mitigation decisions after projects are entitled; critics — chiefly developers with projects already in the corridor — said the timing could delay projects and raise costs.

Developers and engineers who spoke during public comment urged the council to “grandfather” projects already in the pipeline or otherwise avoid adding months to active rezoning timelines. Eric Clay of Meka…