Charlotte planners outline rezoning process changes, new public notices and staff-analysis improvements

City planning staff detailed proposed changes to Charlotte’s rezoning process at the Transportation Planning & Development Committee meeting on Sept. 2, saying the package is intended to make the process easier to navigate for new petitioners and to expand public notice beyond property owners.

The proposal, presented by Interim Planning Director Monica Holmes, rezoning program manager Holly Kramer and planner Dave Petten, would add plain‑language one‑page guides and a consolidated application packet for petitioners; expand mailed notice to tenants within 300 feet via a courtesy postcard in addition to existing property‑owner notices; continue and refine Nextdoor posts; add QR codes to rezoning signs; and revise staff analyses to include by‑right development and infrastructure maps, clearer department comment organization and explicit links to community area plan priority goals.

The recommendations are meant to appear at upcoming council zoning meetings on Sept. 15 and Oct. 17, and staff said they may return to the committee in early October depending on the community area plan adoption timeline. “We did highlight some of this really briefly at our August 4 TPD meeting, and again, we will talk a little bit more and you'll see some of these items in, on our September 15 zoning meeting and our October 17 zoning meeting,” Holmes said.

Why it matters

Planners said the improvements are intended to increase participation from people unfamiliar with rezonings and to capture tenants as well as property owners in the notice process. Kramer said postcards will be mailed both to property owners and to fiscal (tenant) addresses within 300 feet “so that it's going to start capturing tenants of these properties rather than just property owners.” Staff also pointed to expanded Nextdoor outreach for projects that reached large numbers of residents (one example in July captured about 3,000 subscribers in a one‑mile radius versus a typical mailed list of about 76 recipients).

Details of the package

- Education and outreach: two one‑page explainers (rezoning and UDO), a rezoning glossary, a single consolidated petitioner application packet, redesigned petition pages on rezoning.org and in‑person pre‑submittal accommodations.

- Noticing: courtesy postcards at the start of a petition and postcards for tenants near public hearings in addition to certified letters to property owners; continued Nextdoor posts targeted to subscribing neighborhoods; QR codes on site signs linking to rezoning.org.

- Staff analysis changes: maps showing by‑right development and nearby capital projects; reorganized department comment sections (separate infrastructure and other city/county comments); explicit cross‑reference to community area plan priority goals, with a consistency analysis for petitions not aligned with adopted place types.

Committee discussion and context

Council members pressed staff for data about petition volumes since the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) and policy‑map updates. Staff said the city saw an initial slowdown after the UDO rollout but petition volumes have largely returned to typical ranges; they also reported a shift in project types from large multifamily to more attached (townhome) projects. Staff clarified that many parcels still carry legacy zoning that does not match the policy map; full alignment rezoning to match the policy map is possible but depends on property owner consent under state law (Session Law referenced in committee discussion) and has not been completed citywide.

Several council members expressed support for the outreach improvements but raised questions about the 300‑foot mailed notice radius and budget implications of expanding it. Staff said expanding the mailing radius (e.g., to 500 or 1,000 feet) would significantly raise printing and postage costs and would require a budget review; Nextdoor was presented as a lower‑cost method to reach more residents but staff acknowledged subscription limits.

Next steps

Staff said contract and webpage updates are underway, and the rezoning improvements will be presented at the Sept. 15 zoning meeting and an October zoning meeting. Kramer said staff will work with council and community partners on final kiosk and petition notice language and will return with an updated staff analysis template in October if community area plans are adopted.

Ending

Committee members asked staff for further information on petition volumes, budget implications of expanded noticing, and the timing and scope of alignment rezonings. Staff said they would return with details at upcoming meetings and monitor implementation once the community area plans are finalized.