Charlotte’s rapid growth raises thorny issues. Two new groups plan to tackle them.

Two dozen people will soon tackle some of the most complicated issues in Charlotte’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan, the controversial land-use document that’s meant to chart a path for equitable development here over the next two decades.

The Charlotte City Council narrowly adopted the plan in late June, after months of sparring over a key provision that allows higher-density units — including duplexes and triplexes — to be built in traditionally single-family neighborhoods.

The goal is to increase the supply of affordable housing units, though critics warned the new policy would only accelerate gentrification and disrupt neighborhood character.

To ultimately win support among some Council members, developers and neighborhood leaders, the final version of the 2040 plan carved out two new advisory commissions.

Earlier this week, the City Council officially established those bodies, called the Charlotte Equitable Development Commission and Charlotte’s Neighborhood Equity and Stabilization Commission.

“This is really important work,” Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said during Monday’s Council meeting. “It’s influential to our processes and policies.”

Other parts of the 2040 plan

The city has also set other aspects of the 2040 plan into motion, including seeking community input on drawing new maps for what are known as “place types.” Those are similar to to zoning districts and will cover land-use policies for areas like commercial, neighborhood and manufacturing.

Eventually, that work will flow into devising the Unified Development Ordinance, a consolidated set of zoning regulations in Charlotte.

Meanwhile, the city is accepting applications for the new commissions through Aug. 27. Members will serve three-year terms, spanning Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2024.

Here’s the type of strategies the commissions will pursue, transforming the 2040 plan into a tangible reality for Charlotte residents.

Equitable development

Infrastructure is the focus of the Charlotte Equitable Development Commission, comprised of nine people.

They’ll recommend strategies for city leaders that address equitable infrastructure investments in areas experiencing fast growth or targeted for growth.

Council member Matt Newton, who represents wide swaths of recently annexed land in east Charlotte, said this type of commission is long overdue. Basic necessities, like street lights and sidewalks, are missing along major thoroughfares in his district.

Robinson Church Road, Harrisburg Road and the Plaza Road Extension are prime examples, Newton said. Often, as Newton drives along Harrisburg Road and heads into center city, he sees people walking or riding bicycles in the street, since there’s no sidewalk and the nearby grass is overgrown.

“People traversing these roads are taking their lives into their own hands,” Newton told the Observer. “I do see it as a public safety hazard, and I don’t want to see somebody be struck and killed... The on-the-ground infrastructure is not conducive to a city. It’s not what you would see elsewhere.”

West Charlotte has the opposite problem. Infrastructure is crumbling there, Newton said.

Council member Dimple Ajmera said this new commission must incorporate diverse voices. As Ajmera sees it, Charlotteans can leave their legacy by guiding the city’s policy-making.

“We need to look at our infrastructure needs and the backlog that we have so we prioritize equitably so all parts of our city can flourish,” Ajmera said.

Charlotte Equitable Development Commission members should have significant backgrounds in community development and infrastructure assessments, according to the city.

This includes developers, attorneys, business representatives, construction contractors, bankers or insurance agents, and home-builder, homeowner or neighborhood association representations.

Neighborhood equity

Dubbed Charlotte’s NEST, the Neighborhood Equity and STabilization Commission will develop anti-displacement strategies for residents at risk of being priced out of their homes.

It’s a 15-member advisory group that will collaborate with the City Council’s Great Neighborhoods Committee.

“The goal is to address issues that may come up as a result of the 2040 plan, but also take a look at how this city is growing and making sure that we are not disproportionately impacting communities of color,” said Council member Malcolm Graham, chair of the Great Neighborhoods Committee.

“It’s really important that as people are coming into our community — as people are looking for housing and job opportunities — that first and foremost we are sensitive to those who are already here.”

Counties around the Charlotte region saw robust growth in the past decade, according to the first data released Thursday as part of the 2020 Census. Mecklenburg’s population grew by 21% from 2010 to last year, and now stands at 1,115,482. Charlotte grew by nearly 20% and neared 875,000 residents.

Longtime residents should be part of the city’s changing landscape, not victims of it, Graham said. The commission is meant to protect the legacy and traditions of neighborhoods, including those that are historically African American, he said.

The Charlotte Community Benefits Coalition, comprised of neighborhood leaders and community organizations, had urged the City Council in March to create an anti-displacement group as it refined the 2040 plan.

Now, the coalition is pushing for representation on Charlotte’s new advisory groups to apply pressure and ensure new city policies are not watered down, said core coalition member Ismaail Qaiyim.

Displacement is one of the “major driving characteristics of Charlotte as it is right now, and it’s a major feature of any sort of comprehensive plan,” Qaiyim said. “It implicates a lot of other things: housing, wages, healthcare, quality of life.”

Committee membership plans

Membership criteria for Charlotte’s NEST, according to the city, encompasses:

▪ Three housing advocates.

▪ Three neighborhood leaders or community organizers.

▪ Three real estate developers, spanning nonprofit affordable housing, for-profit affordable housing and market-rate housing.

▪ Two residents who live in areas that are experiencing or have experienced displacement.

▪ An urban studies and planning representative “with experience in displacement and gentrification and implementing equitable inclusive development strategies.”

▪ A housing finance representative “with experience in rental housing finance and homeownership and affordable and subsidized housing.”

▪ A land-use representative with experience in “historic preservation and landmarks, zoning, and development rights.”

▪ A “neighborhood conditions” representative with experience in “economic development, health, racial/ethnic segregation, schools and education, and crime.”

Next steps

The city extended the application process for the new commissions by two weeks, due to a low response rate so far, Lyles said.

On Sept. 13, the Council is slated to appoint candidates who received at least six nominations. The Council will vote on appointing the rest of commission members by Sept. 27.

Separately, Charlotte is recruiting people for the newly created Arts and Culture Advisory Board, tasked with determining more sustainable funding strategies for the city’s arts and culture sector. Charlotte is also on the verge of hiring its inaugural arts and culture officer — and city leaders have a large pool of candidates to choose from.

For now, Charlotte is using a blend of public funding, matched by private sector donations, for its annual arts allocation. The City Council tapped the Foundation for the Carolinas to dole out grants to artists groups.

The move upended a decades-long model of Charlotte relying on the Arts & Science Council as a pass-through funding agency.

To learn more or apply, visit https://charlottenc.gov/CityClerk/Pages/BoardsandCommissions.aspx.

This story was originally published August 14, 2021 at 6:40 AM with the headline "Charlotte’s rapid growth raises thorny issues. Two new groups plan to tackle them.."