Two For Tuesday | March 26, 2024
1. Another New Charlotte Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Text Amendment Filed, More on the Way
New UDO Text Amendment
During last night’s Charlotte City Council Business meeting, Planning Director Alyson Craig announced the filing of a new text amendment aimed at tightening rules for Conservation Developments. The amendment will include the following:
- Require an additional 15% tree save (green area) = 40% Total
- Increase minimum project size to 5 acres
- Increase minimum dimensions of open space
- Increase standards for useable open space
- Add additional perimeter buffer requirements
- Require lots to front public streets or open space (not private streets or alleys)
The initial proposal (virtually identical to the one offered last night) was presented at the March 7th meeting of the UDO Advisory Committee where a more comprehensive presentation was provided. As was earlier reported, this elicited a rather spirited discussion among committee members both through regular conversation as well as virtual chat.
This particular change appears to be on the fast track as the schedule is as follows:
- March 28th UDO Advisory Committee
- April 9th Planning Commission
- April 30th Zoning Committee
- May 20 Council Vote
We have submitted multiple comments on the above proposal and will reiterate those concerns during Thursday’s UDO Advisory Committee meeting.
Duplex/Triplex Issue
Two additional recommendations were also offered during last night’s session:
#1 Prioritize New Housing Supply in Key Locations – Create a Compact Development Option for new residential subdivisions 2+ Acres
- Allow smaller lot sizes than base standards
- Allow for affordable housing projects and developments near Centers and high frequency transit
- Explore other priority locations
#2 “Right-size” Housing Diversity – On infill lots and in new subdivisions
- Limit triplexes to corners only in N1A, N1B, N1C, and N1D
- Allow townhomes in N1E and N1F (4-5 units per building)
- Review duplex lot standards to improve viability
These proposals are slated to go through a public vetting process with a text amendment filing likely in May, public hearing in June, and a vote by City Council in July. Here is Alyson’s full presentation.
My take: The proposed text amendment will reduce density and effectively eliminate the utilization of the Conservation Subdivision provision. That’s a fact. Proposal #1 could provide an opportunity to gain density back, but there seems to be a lot of strings attached and it’s location driven. Also, how are “priority locations” defined? How about “affordable housing?” Is it workforce housing? This could be a good thing as long as it’s not regulated to unworkability. Proposal #2 will also reduce density, that’s unless greater flexibility is actually provided with respect to the allowance for townhomes. That means they need to be allowed by right and the Policy Map will need to change accordingly. During last night’s discussion there was very little conversation about the regulatory impact to all of this. If we are going to continue to erode the density gains that were contemplated during adoption of the 2040 Plan and subsequent UDO, then we need to be realistic about the cost of tree mitigation, stormwater requirements, allocation of green area and open space, and any additional rules that shrink the size of useable property no longer available for the production of housing to meet our ever-growing need. — We’re on it.
2. REBIC Hosting Transportation Forum With Region’s Mayors
Please mark your calendars for our upcoming event on April 9th where we’ll be discussing mobility and connectivity within the Charlotte region with feedback from these regional mayors. Our goal is to support advocacy in transportation policy and promote public-private partnerships. Moderated by Tracy Montross with American Airlines, this is a can’t miss event.
Please RSVP to [email protected]
Location: Canopy Building, 2nd Floor, 1120 Pearl Park Way, Charlotte, NC
My take: This event presents a great opportunity to expand our interaction with mayors from the region. Since we interact quite regularly with our Charlotte City leaders it’s important for us to gain the perspective of others who exert a direct effect on the economic prosperity of the broader community. How does our collective vision for a regional transportation plan translate into an actual, functioning system? Come and find out on April 9th. Please RSVP to me at [email protected]. Space is limited!
Rob Nanfelt
Executive Director, REBIC
