Tensions, hope collide ahead of vote on big changes to Charlotte’s zoning rules
Charlotte City Council is just a couple weeks out from one of its most consequential votes when it comes to local growth and development.
The public got its first peek at the 608-page Unified Development Ordinance last October. Now a bit thicker at 685 pages, the UDO is the rule book for what can be built where in Charlotte.
If approved by City Council on Aug. 22, it would be the first time all of the city’s development regulations are consolidated into one document.
Most of the public scrutiny has focused on a provision to allow for denser housing to be built in traditionally single-family neighborhoods.
Some residents fear the rules threaten the character of those neighborhoods while other housing advocates and some City Council members say the rules will help address a housing shortage.
The UDO also would help implement the 2040 Comprehensive Plan, which narrowly won City Council approval last June. The 2040 plan contains lofty goals, like 10-minute neighborhoods where residents can access key amenities such as supermarkets and child care within a 10-minute walk, bike ride or transit trip.
And it outlines how mixed-use and affordable housing developments, transit lines and the environment — including Charlotte’s tree canopy — can mature in tandem amid the city’s burgeoning population growth.
The UDO lays out rules about everything from vehicle parking space minimums and maximums, sidewall heights on townhomes and tree protection.
And there’s been no shortage of debate on the topic. Over the last several months, the city has received over a thousand public comments.
Many were directed at regulations around the short-term rental market like Airbnbs. But in April, the city dumped those regulations, citing recent legal cases in the state.
Development disagreements remain
At a public hearing on the UDO last month, a group of residents — some of them holding signs that said “Say no to UDO” — spoke out against mostly one topic.
The proposed UDO states that duplexes and triplexes (and quadraplexes if at least one unit is affordable for families earning up to 80% of the area median income) can be built in traditionally single-family neighborhoods.
Boosting affordable housing in the city was among several goals for the ordinance’s architects.
The ordinance also has development bonuses for projects that voluntarily include affordable housing units. The bonuses allow for the development of additional lots.
While similar incentives for building affordable units exist in the current code, there is a new bonus suggested if developers pay a fee toward an energy efficient home rehab program.
Some residents described these rules in stark terms, saying the UDO would destroy the character of single-family neighborhoods.
The rules would also lead to higher home prices and issues like gentrification, the residents said, and only benefit developers.
“Charlotte’s quality of life will suffer under the insanely high population density that forces ordinary citizens into cramped housing that provides no privacy or freedom,” Anne Marie Peacock, a Charlotte resident running for a North Carolina House District seat as a Republican, told council members.
Higher standards
If approved, the UDO would lead to gradual improvements in the quality of development in Charlotte, David Walters said in an interview with The Charlotte Observer. Walters sat on the UDO’s advisory committee and is a professor emeritus of architecture and urban design at UNC Charlotte.
The document, he said, gives the city some modern tools to use. Many of today’s standards are outdated and don’t support the city’s vision for growth, local planning officials have said.
The current ordinance was written at different times over the last 30 years, the city’s interim planning director Alyson Craig has said. The new rules aim to provide better predictability in the development process, she said.
The UDO allows for creative development with a mixture of uses and types of homes that, over time, will lead to more vibrant neighborhoods, Walters said. The new zoning ordinance will lead to more thoughtful development.
“That’s why it’s our only chance to climb out of the generic world that we live in,” Walters said.
Others like Julie Porter, president of the nonprofit DreamKey Partners, also view the UDO as leading to meaningful development regulations. DreamKey was formerly known as the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership.
The document will help lead to more density and units of housing, she told council members.
“Charlotte is desperately short of overall housing inventory, which has driven prices up and out of reach for many renters as well as first-time homebuyers,” Porter said.
What happens next
Last month, the planning committee of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of UDO to the City Council.
A final draft will be released on Aug. 15. The City Council will vote on whether to adopt the UDO on Aug. 22.
This story was originally published August 9, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
