A Window View into the CLTUDO: The Vision & Anticipated Timeline

The City of Charlotte continues to progress, witnessing changes in economy, development, demographics, transit needs, and the modernization of land use and development tools/principles. Looking back upon nearly six years of service on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Planning Commission (Planning Commission), the restructuring of our land use policies and zoning ordinance are among the most significant planning-related projects the City has undertaken. I am fortunate to have a role in the process of developing the Charlotte Unified Development Ordinance (CLTUDO) as the Planning Commission Chair (through the end of June 2017) and as Chair of the CLTUDO Stakeholder Advisory Committee, which was convened in December 2016 to provide technical advice/input to the Planning Department and to be “ambassadors,” providing a bridge for communicating with stakeholders about the progression of the project. As we continue working towards drafting a UDO, we delve deeper into a process that will have long-lasting impacts on the Charlotte area and the quality of life of its people. Plus, the CLTUDO ultimately could serve as an example nationwide, as more cities shift to a paradigm of planning guided by livable cities principles like those adopted by the Planning Commission, which include place type concepts, transit-oriented development, walkability/pedestrian access, food security, affordable housing, mixed land use, and the fostering of safe and healthy environments.

We have started to use a Place Type planning tool, which is new to Charlotte, as a springboard from defining the various types of constructed or natural spaces that should be present in the City (e.g., preserved conservation, mixed use urban, light industrial, neighborhood retail, etc.) to drafting the regulations that specify the requirements for creating those spaces. The resulting regulations set forth in the CLTUDO will replace an 800+ paged, outdated zoning ordinance that has become unwieldy and difficult to use, giving rise to an overreliance on conditional zoning decisions. The CLTUDO will combine into one place zoning, subdivision and other land use development ordinances, such as trees and storm water, to make planning and zoning administratively more convenient for developers, the public, and the City.

As can be expected, the process is involved, with many moving pieces, and will take substantial additional time. The anticipated timeframe discussed in our April 2017 CLTUDO Advisory Committee meeting for finalizing the Charlotte Place Types and CLTUDO is as follows:

Summer/Fall 2017:

• Place Types: Framework drafted
• UDO: Annotated Outline drafted

Summer/Fall 2017 through 2018

• Place Types: Public Engagement beginning with Testing & Refinement leading to a Draft Document, Review & Adoption, and an Adopted Place Types Document by 2018
• UDO: Public Engagement beginning with Development of Drafts leading to Public Review of Draft by 2018

2019

• Place Types: Area & District Plan Updates
• UDO: Review & Adoption

There will be additional opportunities for stakeholder and community involvement throughout the process. The CLTUDO Advisory Committee will continue our work on May 25, 2017, with a focus on identifying and analyzing issues and inconsistencies in/between current ordinances.

As long as the drafting process will take, the impact of the CLTUDO will be felt for much longer and will define in many ways the future of the City. For instance, place types around multimodal infrastructure can be a powerful economic development and economic opportunity/mobility tool. How Charlotte Place Types and the CLTUDO address these issues is critical for its citizens and current and future businesses.

My goal with these periodic posts is to provide updates and insight on various policy, land use/development, economic, and other issues that affect and inform this process as it unfolds, and to provide a window into the process. Please do not hesitate to send me questions or comments.