The Charlotte region is at the beginning of a process to invest in the establishment of an extensive rapid transit system.  One of the keys to the long-term success of this investment is creating station areas that are major activity centers made up of a wide range of land uses.  To help foster the proper growth of station areas, the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, the Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC), and the towns of Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, and Matthews adopted Transit Station Area Joint Development Principles in 2002.

Adoption of the Principles provided a framework for local governments and the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) to encourage and promote transit supportive development at transit stations.  However it was necessary for communities to move beyond the level of simply encouraging and promoting transit supportive development.  For that reason, joint development policy guidelines were created that gave the adopting communities the means to foster the type of station development that will help ensure the success of the rapid transit investment.  The following provides the details on the tools that have been adopted, and the steps necessary for their successful application.

Principles & Policy Guidelines  - City of Charlotte

Principles & Policy Guidelines  - North Meck Towns

Transit Station Area Principles