The City of Charlotte has revamped its approach to Transit Oriented Development (TOD) as an initial step in the process of transforming the city into a liveable one that provides transportation options for all residents to access employment, services, and housing. As Chair of the Charlotte Unified Development Ordinance Advisory Committee (Advisory Committee), I was granted the opportunity to speak in support of the proposed TOD amendments at the public hearing in March 2019. After some revision, the Charlotte City Council approved the Text Amendment to the zoning ordinance provisions on TOD on April 15, 2019 and adopted new TOD regulations that reflect the considerable efforts of the Charlotte Department of Planning, Design & Development (Planning Department), the Advisory Committee, interested agency, industry and community stakeholders, and individual citizens who engaged in the process. The amended TOD ordinance and regulations became effective upon adoption, creating four new TOD districts designed to foster development of moderate to high-intensity, compact, mixed-use urban neighborhoods near transit stations. The new TOD districts are designated as TOD-UC Transit Urban Center, TOD-NC Transit Neighborhood Center, TOD-CC Transit Community Center, and TOD-TR Transit Transition.

So, what’s next for TOD and the Advisory Committee?

Translation & Alignment Mapping

We previously talked about the 2-phase process of translation and alignment mapping that would follow adoption of the new TOD regulations. As the initial step to bring existing zoning in alignment with the new TOD regulations, property that was zoned TOD-M, TOD-R, and TOD-E was translated to the new TOD-CC district upon adoption of the new TOD regulations. Between April 15th and June 30th, these translated properties have the choice to develop or redevelop under the previous applicable regulations if a zoning site plan has been submitted and accepted for zoning review by the City. After June 30th, all development will be governed by the new TOD regulations, with the exception of conditionally zoned development.

The Planning Department currently is tackling the second phase called alignment mapping, which entails rezoning parcels along the Blue Line light rail corridor to align with newly adopted TOD districts and policies. During the Advisory Committee’s most recent meeting on April 25, 2019, the Planning Department laid out additional details regarding the process, noting that more than 1900 parcels will be rezoned, excluding parcels inside the I-77/277 loop, Uptown Mixed-Use District (UMUD) zoning, and conditional or optional urban zoning districts. Given the magnitude of this rezoning endeavor, the Planning Department intends to invite the actual property owners who will be affected to four public information meetings in May and June. The Planning Department and Advisory Committee discussed the utility and logistical reality of expanding the audience for public discussion beyond property owners directly affected, leaving open the possibility for additional public input prior to the hearing on the zoning petition that ultimately is submitted. Interactive maps will be made available before these meetings that will show particular addresses and (re)zoning recommendations. The Planning Department anticipates submitting the rezoning petition in July 2019, with the City Council public hearing in September, Zoning Committee consideration in October, and a City Council decision also in October 2019.

Tree Ordinance Text Amendment and Sign Regulations

As the Advisory Committee continues to be invested in the implementation of the TOD revisions, it also has a hand in the development of revisions to the tree ordinance for urban sites and new sign regulations. The Advisory Committee was provided an update on the status of these projects at the April 25th meeting. The stakeholder group began work on a Tree Ordinance text amendment in March (get caught up here) and the Planning Department timeline anticipates a City Council decision in October 2019. New sign regulation development will kick off in June 2019, also with an anticipated October 2019 City Council decision. The Advisory Committee is scheduled to address the tree ordinance text amendment at its next two meetings in May and June, and the sign regulations during its June meetings.

CDOT Streets Map

Part of implementing the TOD revisions is creation of a Streets Map that supports TOD. The Charlotte DOT (CDOT) provided the Advisory Committee with an update on the Streets Map process, identifying several key characteristics of streets that support TOD. The goal is to plan streets that will support and facilitate: (1) Safety for all users; (2) Equitable mobility options/complete streets; (3) Highly livable neighborhoods; (4) Ongoing and rapid growth; (5) Economic development; (6) A useful, engaging and high-quality public realm; (7) Higher intensity, high walkability, and highly accessible development; and (8) Investment in transit (1st and last mile).

The Advisory Committee continues to dig in and we are excited about moving the needle as Charlotte transitions to a Unified Development Ordinance. Our next Advisory Committee meeting will be May 16, 2019, during which we will return to the format of gathering the entire committee together and meeting as one group. I will keep you posted.