‘I am not Pollyanna.’ Charlotte Mayor expected ‘substantial’ disagreement over 2040 plan

Rancorous arguments have become commonplace at Charlotte City Council meetings.

That’s even as Council members ease away from virtual meetings, where technical glitches only amplified tension throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

But Mayor Vi Lyles, in a virtual news conference Thursday, said she has a “lot of confidence and faith” that the Council can move beyond the strife induced by Charlotte’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan.

That 134-page document, which outlines an equitable growth and development plan for Charlotte over the next two decades, divided the Council in recent months.

“I am not Pollyanna,” the mayor said. “I understand that when you’re doing big things that are really going to be sustainable for the next generation instead of where we are everyday, that requires substantial debate and often substantial disagreement.

“But when a decision is made, I think that we’re all going to get behind it.”

Consternation largely stemmed from a provision to allow higher density housing options, including duplexes and triplexes, into traditionally single-family neighborhoods.

Lyles, exasperated after hours of “disparaging remarks,” had abruptly ended an early June meeting, saying at the time that the attacks had become “very real and very ugly.”

Once Council adopted the plan on June 21, on a tight 6-5 margin, Lyles said city leaders must start acting “as expected of the people who elected you and me.”

“We don’t have to be best friends, no,” Lyles said at the time. “I don’t always expect that. But I do expect that respect and decorum is what this community is built on.

Council sparring

Earlier this week at a Council meeting, after Lyles called for a five-minute break, she could be heard on her unmuted microphone saying: “You know this is bad because they’ve got me eating Cheetos.”

Moments before, Council member Tariq Bokhari castigated his colleagues for accepting big pay raises in the fiscal year 2022 budget, adopting the controversial 2040 Comprehensive Plan and “abusing” the Constitution as they moved to postpone all municipal elections to 2022 (due to delayed census data that’s needed to redraw district maps).

But that’s only one example of City Council sparring.

At a seven-hour meeting in May, Council member Braxton Winston said his colleagues had been “disrespecting the mayor all night.”

“If you want to be mayor, run for mayor,” Winston said.

Council member Victoria Watlington fired back: “That’s really rich coming from you, of all people.”

The 2040 plan is only the start of a weightier policy discussion that will continue into next year. Those talks will include developing maps for land use in different types of neighborhoods, parks, mixed-use developments and other areas.

Eventually, those plans and zoning policies will be streamlined into the Unified Development Ordinance.

During Thursday’s news conference, Lyles said the Council will review what went well — and what did not — with the 2040 plan to ensure a smoother process for the UDO. By August or September, Lyles said, the Council also will delegate individual roles and responsibilities for the UDO.

The UDO is one of the “most significant acts this Council can take — not for today, but for the future,” Lyles said.

Charlotte pride

In the far-ranging news conference, here’s what else the mayor had to say.

▪ As Pride Month drew to a close, WCNC reporter Hunter Sáenz made a personal announcement on Twitter Wednesday. “Stepping out of the dark for a colorful life ahead,” Sáenz wrote with rainbow pride flag emojis. “Today’s the day. I’m finally free. I’m the same Hunter you’ve always known, I’m just exhausted from hiding this part about me. I know it’s my time.”

Lyles thanked Sáenz for his courage, expressing hope the tweet could “empower others, especially young people that struggle through this.”

“I hope you know that we, in this community, believe in inclusion and acceptance,” Lyles said.

▪ Lyles reaffirmed that City Council will vote on a nondiscrimination ordinance in August. She said “everyone in this community should have the ability to be included.”

LGBTQ+ residents, advocates and allies have blasted the Council for inaction so far. Mecklenburg County commissioners unanimously passed an LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination resolution in February.

▪ The mayor declined to say if she would seek reelection next year. Lyles jokingly said she would give an answer at noon on Dec. 6, when the candidate filing period opens.

This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 3:19 PM.