Calendar:
(See Below)
Information items:
- Voluntary Annexation of North Lake Mall and Mall-Related parcels
- Wireless Communications Update
- Arena Related Developments
- Bicycle Planning Grant
- Hot Jobs/Cool Communities Peer Cities Comparison
- Charlotte Arena Project Monthly Expenditures
- Briar Creek Sewer Improvement Project Update
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Calendar:
Monday, May 16
5:00 pm - Council Manager Dinner Briefing, Room CH-14
6:00 pm - Zoning Meeting, Meeting Chamber
Wednesday, May 18
3:00 pm - Council Makes Adjustments To Manager's Recommended Budget, Room 267 AGENDA: Review of Budget Alternatives; Consideration of Budget Amendments
7:00 pm - MUMPO Meeting, Room CH-14
Thursday, May 19
12:00 pm - Restructuring Government Committee Meeting, Room CH-14 AGENDA: Multi-Family Garbage Collection; Four-Year Terms
6:00 pm - District 3 Neighborhood Meeting, First Mount Zion Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 1515 Remount Road
Friday, May 20
7:45 am - Planning Liaison Committee Meeting, 8th Floor
Police Week Activities:
Staff Resource: Marylyn Williams, 704-336-2361
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department will observe National Police Week May 15-21. Activities include:
Monday, May 16 -- 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Equipment Display and Information Fair at the Square
Monday, May 16 -- 8:15 pm
Candlelight Memorial Service in Sharon Memorial Gardens
Tuesday, May 17 -- 12 Noon
Wreath Laying Ceremony at Police Memorial in front of Police Headquarters. Officers, family members of officers killed in the line of duty, and others will walk to First Baptist Church at 301 S.Davidson Street for the Peace Officers Memorial Service.
Wednesday, May 18 -- 5:30 pm
Awards Ceremony and Reception at the Police and Fire Training Academy
Mayor and Council are invited to all events.
Information Items:
Voluntary Annexation of North Lake Mall and Mall-Related parcels
Staff Resources: Mike Boyd, 704-336-4111 and Jonathan Wells, 704-336-4090
On May 23, Council will be asked to consider a voluntary annexation agreement and to set a public hearing for the Northlake Mall development.
The City recently received a voluntary annexation petition from the owners of the NorthLake Mall for a portion of the Mall property and numerous parcels adjacent to the Mall. This facility is currently under construction immediately north of the current City boundary, west of I-77 on the north side of West W.T. Harris Boulevard (formerly Reames Road). Anticipated Mall opening is September 2005.
This petition culminates better than a year of discussion between City staff and with the Faison Corporation (the mall's developer) and the Taubman Corporation (the mall's owner), and represents a public/private partnership. Annexation will allow the new development to receive City services (including maintenances of the Northlake Center Parkway being built by the developer), and the City will receive an estimated $700,000 in additional annual property tax revenues from the development. Voluntary annexation will allow the City to annex the Mall at least one to two years earlier than it would have been able to through involuntary annexation.
Not long after City Council approved the Mall rezoning in November 2003, it was determined that the NC Department of Transportation could not assume maintenance responsibility for the future Northlake Center Parkway since it was not designed to State standards, but rather to more urban City standards (sidewalks, flatter road elevations, and the potential for on-street parking.) The City cannot currently assume maintenance of the road as most of it is outside the current City limits. Instead of requiring the road to be privately maintained (preventing Police patrol of the road), a voluntary annexation was discussed as a means of both addressing the road maintenance issue and completing annexation of the valuable Mall property on an accelerated timeline.
Based upon the agreement reached between City staff and the Mall owner and developer, it is proposed that the Mall (and adjoining properties) be annexed in three phases. The first phase will include one Mall "anchor" parcel, plus several out-parcels adjoining the Mall as well as the Northlake Center Parkway right-of-way between the current City boundary and the future I-485. The second phase consists of the Parkway right-of-way between I-485 and Alexanderana Road.
It is proposed that the first and second phases of the annexation become effective during Summer 2005, in preparation for the Mall's September opening. The recently-received annexation petition is for the first and second phases.
The third and final annexation phase will involve the Mall property proper, and this area will be proposed for annexation in either September 2006 or February 2007, depending upon the amount of additional roadway work the applicants agree to complete, with the later date used if the additional roadway work is completed by the applicants.
City Council will be soon asked to consider an annexation agreement - developed jointly by City staff and the applicants specifically for this situation - that spells out the specific responsibilities of all the parties for this complicated transaction. This agreement will ensure that all parties involved will fulfill their responsibilities and will prevent the applicants from failing to follow through on applying for the final phase of the annexation. This agreement will be presented to Council at the May 23 meeting at the same time that Council will be asked to consider establishing the public hearing date for the first phase of this proposed annexation.
Wireless Communications Update
Staff Resource: Susan Johnson, 704-336-6252
Council has asked a number of questions in the past year pertaining to wireless Internet connectivity and the services and role the City should play. There are two aspects to this question. First, what wireless public access Internet services does the City currently provide in any of its facilities? Second, what role should the City play in assuring Charlotte as a community has wireless services that meet or exceed citizen and visitors' expectations?
Today the major City public facilities do not have wireless public Internet connectivity available. Business plans are being developed for public access at the Airport, the Charlotte Convention Center, Ovens Auditorium and Cricket Arena. The business plans are addressing the issues of free public access versus fee for service as well as levels of commitment and responsibility for service and security. Specifications for public access for the Government Center have been developed proposing free wireless Internet connectivity in the public areas. However, implementation has been postponed indefinitely due to funding issues.
Consideration of the role the City might take in developing or facilitating business or citizen access to wireless services in Charlotte was recently addressed in a general communications study conducted by General Dynamics. The study found that Charlotte has a significant number of wireless providers offering, or planning to offer in the near term, wireless services, thereby substituting for the need for the City to be a wireless provider itself. The list of current wireless providers includes Verizon, Cingular, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Nextel, Alltel and others.
Focus for the City should be on making it easy for more providers to enter the Charlotte market. This speaks to having a standardized approach for vendors to access the Right of Way (ROW).
Staff is currently reviewing the existing ROW regulations to make sure any unique requirements of wireless vendors are considered so that we can maintain fair and equitable access to this important asset. This is particularly challenging in locations like the uptown business district where the ROW is already at capacity with traditional ROW tenants such as electrical, telephone, water/sewer and natural gas utilities' infrastructure. Appearance standards will need to be considered so that above ground wireless equipment doesn't detract from the attractiveness of our community. Technical standards are also critical when introducing wireless services as these services are operating in unregulated frequencies where there is a potential of signal interference as the number of providers grow.
Wireless services are becoming a "must have" amenity in leading cities. The challenge is to attract leading wireless services companies by removing barriers to market entry while balancing the need of the community for an attractive and safe city by exercising appropriate oversight and regulatory processes.
Arena Related Developments
Staff Resource: Tom Flynn, 704-432-1396
Attached is information requested by Council member Tabor regarding announced new development projects related to the new Arena.
Bicycle Planning Grant
Staff Resource: Ken Tippette, 704-336-2278
The North Carolina Department of Transportation has awarded the City of Charlotte a $75,000 matching grant for bicycle transportation planning. This grant will enable Charlotte to update and expand its existing bicycle plan to better serve the current needs of the city. Currently, there are 20 miles of existing bicycle lanes in the City. Bicycle planning provides for bicycle lanes, signed routes, parking facilities, connectivity and other features to be integrated with streets, neighborhoods, light rail, greenways and transit to create a better integrated transportation network. The plan will help identify opportunities and methods to further expand Charlotte's bicycling system, and promote bicycle safety, awareness and education.
Hot Jobs/Cool Communities Peer Cities Comparison
Staff Resource: Tom Flynn, 704-432-1396
At the May 9 Dinner Briefing, representatives from the City Committee presented their Hot Jobs/Cool Communities report. The Hot Jobs/Cool Communities report includes a "handprint" of Charlotte based on seven indices: Social Capital, Learning, Earning, Vitality, Around Town, After Hours, and Cost of Lifestyle. The greater the score on the index, the "cooler" the community is considered.
Council member Tabor requested a comparison of Charlotte's rankings to those of our peer cities. The attached PowerPoint presentation includes handprints of Austin, Atlanta, Nashville, Jacksonville, Birmingham, and Louisville. Please note the report is dated 2002 and contains an old handprint of Charlotte. The recent Charlotte handprint is included separately.
Charlotte Arena Project Monthly Expenditures
Staff Resource: Jim Schumacher, 704-336-3656
Attached is the Monthly Arena Expenditure Report.
Briar Creek Sewer Improvement Project Update
Staff Resource: Doug Bean, 704-391-5070
In past weeks, Utilities staff met with businesses and vacant land owners along the Briar Creek project. Additional alternatives are under consideration and making progress. The first area meeting scheduled on May 19 has been moved to May 23. Here is the revised schedule to discuss the alignment along properties on the below roads:
May 23 - Windsor and Sunnymede roads at 6:00 pm (Mouzon Church)
- Fairfax and Michael Baker roads at 7:30 pm (Mouzon Church)
May 24 - Lila Wood, Moncure and Inverness roads at 6:00 pm (Mouzon Church)
Additional meetings are being scheduled for other areas as well as a general meeting for the entire phase 1 project in June.
