April, 2018
Charlotte’s development regulations are complex—in part
because they regulate the full range of development that is possible throughout
the city. Ordinance language can be ambiguous for some situations, and very
specific for others. The more specific the language is, the less flexible
Charlotte’s response to a particular project can be. Conversely, the more
ambiguous the language, the less predictable our requirements may be. Achieving
the right balance between flexibility and predictability is a constant dilemma
in developing regulatory policies. It is not unexpected, therefore, that in
some cases applicants or other interested parties may disagree with plan
reviewers or inspectors about how the code applies in a specific circumstance,
or, how the process is being administered for their unique project.
The development community has expressed the need to be in
place a familiar conflict resolution process to resolve conflicts or
disagreements in an expedient manner. And
although the City has a conflict resolution process, it is not ever used and
needs updating.
In most cases where conflict arise, City staff work in
partnership with the applicant for quick resolution. However, in cases where the issue is unable
to get resolved at the first level, the applicant can request a review of the
case with the appropriate managers, as follows:
Commercial Projects: Land Development Manager (Dave Weekly)
Subdivision Projects: Subdivision Program Manager (Shannon Frye)
Charlotte Water Projects: Charlotte Water Engineering Division Manager (Mike Garbark)
If, after the review, the decision is still in question, the
applicant can request a review by the appropriate Department Director(s).
City staff is working with the Development Services
Technical Advisory Committee (DSTAC) on this initiative. Next is to automate the workflow into Accela,
the City’s permitting software, and test it prior to implementation.
The use of chain link fence (CLF) for protection of tree
save areas has recently been applied by Urban Forestry staff (UF) in a broader
application than in the past.
Historically, use of CLF included individual trees and City trees in the
right-of-way; however, more recently CLF was required on some development plans
to protect tree save areas.
In 2017 UF identified the need to update the current tree
protection fence detail including adding chain link fence as one of the means
for protection. This was driven by
frequent field observations of the current orange plastic fencing not being
properly maintained; therefore, making tree save areas vulnerable to
damage. In an effort to better protect
trees, some Urban Forestry staff began requiring the broader use of CLF. However, staff had not yet gone through the
formal process of updating the Charlotte Land Development Standards Manual with
a new detail.
As a result, the broader application of CLF for tree
protection has been stopped. In
addition, UF identified the applicable projects and withdrew this requirement. Next, it was determined that two steps should
be taken prior to updating the tree protection fence detail. First, UF will more strictly enforce proper
maintenance of the current orange plastic tree protection fence. Past practice has been to mostly forego the
official issuance of Notices of Violations (NOV’s) and fines for tree
protection fence violations, in an effort to seek compliance in a collaborative
fashion. Therefore, going forward, when
tree protection fence is not maintained it will first result in an NOV, and
further violations can incur a fine of $1,000 per instance, per day. Second, UF will collect field data in 2018
including occurrences of improper maintenance, damage to tree save areas, and
issuance of NOV’s. In 2019 staff will evaluate
the data and report findings to the Development Services Technical Advisory
Committee (DSTAC). If warranted, based
on the findings, City staff will work with DSTAC to update the tree protection
fence detail. Contact: Pete Grisewood (704.517.7893)
On March 19, 2018, City Council approved a text amendment to
Section 2.201 and 12.403 of the Zoning Ordinance. The amendment aligns the ordinance language
with updates made to Chapter 10, Article II of the Municipal Code titled,
“Health and Sanitation Ordinance” that was approved by City Council on
September 11, 2017, with an effective date of January 1, 2018. It also updates and aligns the Zoning
Ordinance terms to those currently used by the Solid Waste Services Department.
The recent updates to the Health and Sanitation
ordinance included a change going forward in service eligibility for solid
waste services. It reduced eligibility
for curbside service for multifamily units from less than 30 units to 11 or
less units for development plans filed on or after March 20, 2018. The text amendment provides the updated space
requirements for large waste container (dumpster/compactor) service and
recycling collection for multifamily units with 12 or more units for
development plans filed on or after March 20, 2018. For a copy of the text amendment click here.
A Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control overview seminar and
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Certified Site Inspector (CMCSI) class will be held on
Thursday, May 24, 2018 at the Mecklenburg County Offices at 2145 Suttle
Avenue, 4th Floor, Charlotte, NC.
Registration forms for the May 24th Seminar can
be downloaded from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Certified Site Inspector website.
If you have any questions regarding the CMCSI Training Seminar,
please contact Jeff Bock at 704-560-9798.
All meetings are open to the public.
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES TECHNICAL ADVISORY (DSTAC) COMMITTEE: Meetings
are typically held on the second Wednesday of each month in Room 136 of the
Charlotte Mecklenburg Government Center (600 East Fourth Street, Charlotte, NC)
from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm.
STORM WATER ADVISORY COMMISSION (SWAC) MEETING:
Meetings are typically held on the third Thursday of each month at 4:30 pm at
the Mecklenburg County Offices at 2145 Suttle Avenue, Charlotte, NC.
TREE
ADVISORY COMMISSION: Meetings are
typically held on the third Tuesday of every month at the Charlotte Mecklenburg
Government Center (600 East Fourth Street, Charlotte, NC) beginning at 5:00 pm. |