Mecklenburg supervisors approve franchise, contract and zoning steps; committees advance pay plan and waste measures

Mecklenburg County supervisors met in March and approved several administrative and policy actions, including a franchise to allow Charter Communications (Spectrum) to operate in parts of the county, a contract to rewrite the county’s zoning and subdivision ordinances, and an initiating resolution to consider removing utility-scale solar as a permitted use in the zoning code.

The board also received committee reports that moved a major personnel pay-plan proposal forward into the budget process and discussed waste-management steps to curb illegal dumping. The meeting included public comments urging county action on animal-control services and shelter capacity.

The board opened a public hearing on a request from Charter Communications to enact a local franchise agreement to authorize Spectrum to operate within Mecklenburg. County staff told the board that Spectrum had already installed service in parts of the county but lacked authority to operate there. Resident Harold Queen, from a neighborhood where service was present, told the board staff were responsive and said the service would let more people live and work locally: “They finally told me that they didn't have a franchise agreement…thanks to both of them for doing it,” Queen said. After the hearing, the board adopted the ordinance enacting the franchise with a separate appendix to reflect two franchise areas; the motion carried.