Zoning ordinance could define new Council’s legacy

Listen to this article

CHARLOTTE – Just about every political leader – a certain Canadian mayor notwithstanding – works to be remembered for fixing issues for their constituents and leaving their jurisdiction a better place.

Whether that’s solving the poverty problem, vanquishing corruption or mapping smart development, leaders are elected based on public perception of their ability to achieve these very public goals.

The outgoing Charlotte City Council, as a group, will likely be remembered for its efforts to improve public transportation around the city, with the approval of the Blue Line Extension of the light rail and the second phase of the CityLynx Gold Line – formerly called the streetcar. Those projects had a hand in the promotion of former Mayor Anthony Foxx to U.S. secretary of transportation.

There’s also a little property called Eastland Mall that will forever be related to the outgoing council, with the legacy of that project still years from being known.

But on Dec. 2 the new City Council starts its term with a new leader and several new faces, and while some in the development industry say the council may not make as many decisions that will have an instant impact on the city, they could control the fate of upcoming decades of Charlotte development.

Mayor-elect Patrick Cannon, a Democrat, will take over with five new faces: District 2 Councilman Al Austin, District 4 Councilman Greg Phipps, and Councilwoman at Large Vi Alexander Lyles, all Democrats; and District 6 Councilman Kenny Smith and District 7 Councilman Ed Driggs, Republicans. None of the new officials could be reached for comment on their plans for the city.

They are joining the more familiar faces of the Democratic incumbents: District 1 Councilwoman Patsy Kinsey, District 3 Councilwoman LaWana Mayfield, District 5 Councilman John Autry, Councilman at Large Michael Barnes, Councilman at Large David Howard, and Councilwoman at Large Claire Green Fallon.

Joe Padilla, the executive public policy director with the Charlotte-based Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition, said it’s the policy decisions made by this council that could have the most lasting effect on the city.

Padilla said rewriting the city’s zoning ordinance is an issue that should be at the top of the docket for the new council.

“The one thing we’re going to be looking at over the next years is the zoning ordinance and making sure staff and Council see the need to make it more effective and more conducive to economic growth so developers can have an easier path to build what the city envisions it wants built,” he said. “They have to find a way to make the zoning ordinance as streamlined as possible.”

The city has started the process of overhauling the zoning ordinance, which hasn’t had a thorough revision in more than 20 years. Sections have been added and amendments have been made, but the ordinance hasn’t been rewritten since Charlotte’s population was just more than 400,000. This year, Charlotte’s population was roughly 795,000, according to the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce.

A rewrite is important not only because of the population strain, but also because of new development trends that have emerged over the past two decades. In 1990, developers weren’t as concerned with urban-infill and transit-oriented development. Rarely does a City Council zoning meeting pass without an alphabet soup of acronyms, like TOD and MUDD (mixed-use development district).

Over the summer, Denver-based Clarion & Associates released its findings after studying for nearly a year the city’s zoning ordinance.

Clarion’s study found that as Charlotte grew and continued adding to the ordinance, it has become increasingly murky and difficult to navigate. Stakeholders in the process told Clarion that overwhelmingly they find the zoning ordinance difficult to understand.

To remedy this, the company suggested that “a new zoning ordinance provides an opportunity to present the regulations in more straightforward, efficient, and intuitive way.”

The city, of course, doesn’t have to follow Clarion’s suggestions, but Padilla said the new Council would be wise to do so, considering the zoning ordinance affects almost all future development in the city whether by-right or through a rezoning.

Charlotte officials haven’t made any decisions regarding what will go into a new zoning ordinance, or even if it plans to write a new one, but continues to hold meetings to discuss the possibilities. If a new ordinance is drafted, City Council would have the final say on approval of the ordinance that could guide the city for the next 20 years.

Dave Simpson, government relations and building director at the Carolinas chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America, said it’s important for future growth and development for the City Council to be on the same page, especially on issues like the zoning ordinance.

“I just hope the City Council won’t get in the way of infrastructure and the growing of the city,” he said. “And will make policies that will provide badly needed infrastructure improvements and will increase transportation and utility construction work.”