As I’ve mentioned would happen, Charlotte Planning Staff has filed a new text amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) and has provided the following brief Q&A:
What does this amendment do? This text amendment provides greater clarity, new and updated definitions, adjusts use permissions and prescribed conditions, and makes some changes and additions to standards.
Why was this proposed? The UDO went into effect on June 01, 2023. Since then, staff has identified changes (see comments in “My take” below) to improve the ordinance for users and to better align with desired outcomes. This proposed amendment includes many of those identified changes.
Where can I read what is proposed? In the proposed amendment, the red underlined text shows added wording, and the red strike-through text shows deleted wording.
What impact does this have? This text amendment improves the functionality of the UDO.
What is the schedule? City staff has scheduled two virtual informational sessions on this amendment in early November. Click one of the links below to sign up!
NOV 6 – 6 PM SESSION (6 PM-7 PM)
NOV 7 – NOON SESSION (12 PM-1 PM)
A City Council public hearing will be held on November 18 with a decision on the text amendment anticipated for December 16.
Some specific revisions include:
My take: Please take the necessary time to fully review the proposed text amendment. This is easily done by opening the document and performing a word search for items of interest to you, accomplished by clicking on the magnifying glass icon. Also, I might add that this text amendment includes some provisions we as an industry have identified as concerns generated by our suggested amendments to staff through our UDO Change Request Form process. Here is a list of all the change forms that have been submitted thus far. And, please remember that if you identify additional items that need to be addressed, please reach out to me directly at [email protected].
We’re sorry to report that the Charlotte’s Community Area Planning process continues to churn on with only limited participation. That means whatever comments are there at the end of the deadline are the ONLY opinions that will be used to help create the final document. Lucky for us all there are only two workshops left to attend. PLEASE click one of the links below to register:
Tuesday, November 12 – 11:00 am to 12:30 pm
Thursday, November 14 – 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Queens University Sports Complex & Conference Center
2229 Tyvola Road Charlotte, NC 28210
Following these sessions, Planning Staff will move on to Phase 4 of the process which will culminate with Phase 5 and a proposal to the City Council to adopt the Area Plans along with a Final Version of the Policy Map sometime during the spring or early summer of 2025.
My take: Remember, the entire landscape of feedback to Charlotte’s policy documents are all vital. Yes, changes to the text of the UDO and its implementation of those changes are important. And, even though it does not seem to garner similar attention, the Area Planning process is just as significant.
Now for my other strong opinion of the document and my “why” for you to make comments: The official title of the policy map is the “2040 Policy Map.” This indicates it is a forward-thinking instrument, but upon a cursory review, it lacks all the earmarks of forward thinking. Many of the Place Types depicted use what exists now, not what could be. Given that our lives and technology are now leaping forward at warp speed, this is a problem. Among other things, not inserting more innovative ideas into this document seriously hamstrings our positive future progress. One way it harms us is by lengthening the time it takes to gain approvals which, as we know, drive up the cost for the end user. Namely those seeking to purchase a home or relocate or even start a business. Since this is the opposite of the outcome proponents of the Plan and UDO said they wanted at the outset of this discussion, I offer my closing remarks: There is still time to make your voice heard. Please, add your comments NOW.
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