The Charlotte City Council's Transportation and Planning Committee met for their September meeting, where they discussed the City's new visioning process to develop a Comprehensive Plan, improvements to make streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists, and the e-scooter program.

Charlotte City Council’s Transportation and Planning Committee resumed their usual schedule of monthly meetings on Monday, August 27th.  The committee received updates on the Comprehensive Plan and the Transit Oriented Development Districts.

Planning Director Taiwo Jaiyeoba introduced Garet Johnson, Planning Department, as the project manager for the Comprehensive Plan.

We need your help! On June 25th, the Charlotte City Council will be voting on a comprehensive resolution that calls for the city to source 100% of its energy used in its buildings and fleet from zero-carbon sources by 2030. It also creates an action plan for dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors.

This is great news, and if implemented, would truly make Charlotte a leading city in the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It would significantly increase the quality of life for residents through environmental improvements like air quality and prepare our economy for the jobs of the future. You can read more about the resolution and action plan in our recent blog post.

We need your help to get this passed! Please contact Councilmembers and the Mayor and tell them you support the “Sustainable and Resilient Charlotte” resolution and ask for their support!

Please come out to the June 25th City Council meeting to show your support! We will be meeting in the lobby of the Government Center at 6 pm.

Address: 600 East Fourth Street Charlotte NC 28202

Read on for contact info and resolution text.

SouthEnd Vision Plan

Monica Holmes from the city’s Planning Department gave an overview of changes incorporated into the SouthEnd Vision Plan since the previous Transportation and Planning meeting. Check out the full presentation here. During the April Transportation and Planning meeting, members voiced their concern about the absence of affordable housing language in the plan. 

Photo courtesy of: Charlotte Agenda

At their June 4 meeting, the Charlotte City Council Environment Committee passed a comprehensive resolution that, among many things, calls for the city to source 100% of its energy used in its buildings and fleet from zero carbon sources by 2030.

City Council Committees (also known as Focus Areas) are newly seated and back in session!

On Monday, February 19th, the Transportation and Planning Committee held its first meeting of 2018. Council members Dimple Ajmera, Larken Egleston, and Braxton Winston now serve on the committee with Greg Phipps acting as Chair and Julie Eiselt as Vice Chair. Before staff presentations, Mr. Phipps expressed the goal of the committee members taking action on items brought before them within 90 days.  

Can a house be too small?

After introductions, an update on “tiny houses” planned for the proposed Keyo Park West development steered the agenda. This is the first proposal for a Charlotte tiny house community.

Photo from Southern Living

On Monday night (11/15), we asked City Council to support the 5-year pedestrian plan, Charlotte WALKS, and close two loopholes to the city code that currently allow developers to forgo the building of safe sidewalks during site construction.

Read Charlotte WALKS here and read the comments made by Sustain Charlotte’s Bicycle Program Manager Kate Cavazza here below!  

It's been a long and contentious election season. We hear you on that! But when you go to the polls, please keep your energy up until the very end and pay close attention to the bottom of your ballot. There you'll find a bond referendum that will shape the future of Charlotte.

Sustain Charlotte's vision is for "a region in which everyone has the knowledge, resources and opportunity to make choices with a clear awareness of their combined social, economic and environmental impacts." We invite you to empower yourself with the knowledge of what the proposed bond includes, and then go take advantage of your opportunity to vote! 

Past bonds have supported workforce housing like The Retreat at Renaissance, pictured above.

(photo: voteyesforbonds.com)

Voter approval of the bond would mean funding for:

At the February 11 Charlotte City Council Environment Committee, Councilmembers Autry, Driggs, Howard, and Smith discussed the Mecklenburg Livable Communities Plan and the Environment Focus Area Plan.

Rob Phocas from Neighborhood & Business Services presented a summary of the Mecklenburg Livable Communities Plan process to date and shared a timeline for future work on it. The committee voted unanimously to support the MLCP resolution and to send it to the full City Council for their endorsement at the February 23rd meeting. Mr. Phocas reported that the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners endorsed the plan process on February 21st, and he shared a list of dates when it will be presented to town councils throughout Mecklenburg County for endorsement.

7 Guiding Principles of the MLCP. Image from LivableMeck.com