Calendar:
Monday, March 27
4:00 p.m. - Transportation Committee Meeting, Room 280
AGENDA: Transportation Action Plan Update
5:00 pm - Council Manager Dinner Briefing, Room 267
6:30 pm - Citizens' Forum, Meeting Chamber
7:00 pm - Council Business Meeting, Meeting Chamber
Tuesday, March 28
12:00 pm - Housing and Neighborhood Development Committee Meeting, Room CH-14. AGENDA: FY06 Mid-Year Compliance Monitoring Report; Neighborhood Symposium Update; Charlotte Neighborhood Fund
Agenda Notes:
Agenda Item #5: Ardrey Crest Public Hearing and Proposed Voluntary Annexation
Staff Resource: Mike Boyd, 704-336-4111 - hmboyd@ci.charlotte.nc.us
The public hearing and proposed voluntary annexation of Ardrey Crest is on Council's agenda for Monday, March 27. Crosland Ardrey Crest, LLC originally requested that all of its Ardrey Crest property be annexed. This tract extends from the existing City Limits on Wade Ardrey Road to the Mecklenburg/Union County Line. City staff requested that the petitioner remove a strip of property along the County Line from the petition so that unincorporated areas north and south of the Ardrey Crest development would remain contiguous in any consideration of those areas for future annexation. The petitioner agreed and submitted a revised petition.
By clerical error, the notice of the public hearing on the annexation of Ardrey Crest included not only the property that the petitioner requested be annexed but also the strip of property that was removed from the annexation petition at the City's request. This error does not affect the propriety of the public hearing or Council's ability to annex the property described in the petition. The ordinance annexing Ardrey Crest which Council will be asked to consider includes only the property included in the revised annexation petition.
Agenda Item #13E: Airport Paving Contract - PULLED
Staff Resource: T. J. Orr, 704-359-4006 - tjorr@ci.charlotte.nc.us
The Aviation Department staff has pulled the Airport Paving Contract from the March 27 City Council agenda.
Agenda Item #25: Elizabeth Avenue Business Corridor
Staff Resource: Tom Russell, 704-336-4639 - trussell@ci.charlotte.nc.us
The primary goal of the Elizabeth Avenue Business Corridor Project is to create an environment that stimulates re-development and favors the pedestrian and transit. Elizabeth Avenue is a busy corridor accommodating both motorist and pedestrian traffic. The new project reduces Elizabeth Avenue from three to two lanes in order to create a pedestrian friendly "main street" environment through Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) and the mixed use project development by Grubb Properties.
New development is already occurring on Elizabeth Avenue. Grubb Properties is developing a new mixed-use environment from Hawthorne Lane to Independence Boulevard, which will entail retail shopping on the street level with office/residential above. Central Piedmont Community College is redeveloping the community college from Kings Drive to Independence Boulevard, by replacing the obsolete buildings with architecturally styled brick buildings to give the campus a more traditional collegiate look.
The original intent of this project was to define and implement a streetscape plan for Elizabeth Avenue from Kings Drive to Hawthorne Lane through the Business Corridor Program. The project team realized that with all the new development coming, there was a great opportunity to collaborate with other city departments (Planning Commission, CDOT, CATS, and E&PM) to see what work could be done now to minimize construction impacts to both CPCC and Grubb Properties future tenants. CPCC and Grubb Properties wanted to improve the pedestrian safety along Elizabeth Avenue and hoped this project would improve both safety and aesthetics of the corridor. CPCC and Grubb will be responsible for installing the streetscape amenities behind the curb that are required by MUDD (Mixed Use Development District) and will provide the funding for the overhead utilities to be relocated to an underground ductbank for aesthetic reasons. This project represents a strong public/private joint venture among the City of Charlotte, CPCC and Grubb Properties.
The proposed project (CPCC Section and Developers Section attached) will include:
- Relocation of curbs to create one lane in each direction with turn lanes at signalized intersections, bike lanes between Kings Drive and Independence Boulevard and on-street parking between Independence Boulevard and Hawthorne Lane;
- Installation of wider sidewalks, tree plantings, street lighting, pedestrian-scale lighting, and steel poles and mast arms for traffic signals;
- Increasing water line capacity for future development;
- Relocation of overhead utilities to an underground ductbank
Agenda Item #36: Sale of City Property at Wilkes Place near West Trade Street
Staff Resources:
Tom Flynn, 704-432-1396 - tflynn@ci.charlotte.nc.us
Tim O'Brien, 704-336-3149 - tobrien@ci.charlotte.nc.us
The attached property location map and February 27, 2006 presentation to Council were inadvertently omitted from the Council Business Agenda packet.
Information Items:
Transit Investment Policies and Affordable Housing
Staff Resources:
Ron Tober, 704-336-7245 - rtober@ci.charlotte.nc.us
Stanley Watkins, 704-336-3796 - swatkins@ci.charlotte.nc.us
The U. S. Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently began a research project to examine linkages between transit investment policies and affordable housing. To help inform the study, the FTA and HUD have selected five (5) case study regions to examine local and metropolitan policies on housing and public transit investment. The Charlotte region has been chosen as one of the five (5) sites based on the significant transit investment occurring within our region and efforts by local partners to foster development near transit stations. The other regions which have been selected by FTA and HUD are Boston, Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Portland.
The FTA and HUD have selected Reconnecting America's Center for Transit Oriented Development to implement this project. The Center will work with us to identify strategies and new ideas for engaging public and private interests and improving federal transit and housing programs to better address both housing affordability and transit-oriented development.
The Center will convene a Listening Session here in Charlotte during the afternoon of March 31, 2006 to obtain local perspectives on the relationship of transit and affordable housing, discuss existing policies which relate to these elements and identify barriers, as well as opportunities, to furthering affordable housing and transit oriented development. Council is invited to attend. The session will be held in CH-14 from 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm, registration and refreshments will begin at 1:00 pm.
The selection of the Charlotte region for this initiative is an exciting development that directly supports Council's Focus Areas and Priorities through expanding the dialogue to include our local partners as we continue to strengthen neighborhoods and provide housing choices for all citizens of Charlotte.
11th Annual Neighborhood Symposium Update
Staff Resource: Stephanie Small, 704-336-2929 - ssmall@ci.charlotte.nc.us
The 11th Annual Neighborhood Symposium is scheduled for April 22, 2006 at the Charlotte Marriott City Center from 8:00 am until 4:00 pm. This year's theme is "Standards of Excellence: Showcasing Model Neighborhoods."
The agenda includes workshops, exhibits, speakers and activities for youth. Participants will enjoy additional opportunities for networking this year, as leaders who will share their experiences in resolving issues in their neighborhood will lead some of the workshops.
The keynote speaker is Mickey Fearn with the City of Seattle, Washington. As a Senior Policy Analyst for the Mayor of Seattle, his current responsibilities include citizen engagement and community relations. He has served there as an Organizational Development Specialist. He created and led their Neighborhood Leadership Program. Mr. Fearn is also an experienced trainer and facilitator, particularly in the areas of leadership, team building, and conflict mediation.
More than 1,500 invitations were mailed to Charlotte residents. Interested persons may also register on line at www.charmeck.org or by phone at 704-336-2061. One hundred people have registered thus far, however many more are anticipated.
Metropolitan Transit Commission Meeting Summary
Staff Resource: Ron Tober, 704-336-7245 - rtober@ci.charlotte.nc.us
At its meeting on Wednesday, March 22, 2006, the MTC voted unanimously to approve Resolution No. 2006-01, which accepts and adopts the FY2007 Transit Operating Program and FY2007-FY2016 Transit Capital Investment Plan. This was the fourth meeting during which the MTC considered the transit budget.
The MTC also received information briefings on the following:
Regional Air Quality Pilot Program:
The Charlotte Chamber, Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte have worked together for the past year to develop the Regional Air Quality Pilot Program that encourages businesses throughout the region to participate in the area's clean air efforts. The program, funded equally by CMAQ and Mecklenburg County for $1 million, will initially target 50 businesses encouraging them to alter employee commuting behaviors such as switching from single occupancy vehicles to more eco-friendly choices like vanpools and public transportation. The program will also focus on encouraging these businesses to make changes to their operational policies such as adopting fleet non-idling policies and purchasing environmentally friendly vehicles and equipment. CATS' staff will continue to work with this pilot program to ensure that activities taken do not undermine CATS extensive efforts with Mecklenburg County employers through the Employer Transportation Coordinator (ETC) Program.
FTA's latest requirements for major transit projects: Staff updated the MTC on the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) latest process and requirements for evaluating and rating major transit projects for federal funding. The recent re-authorization of the SAFETEA-LU federal transportation bill by Congress includes 315 potential transit projects that are seeking federal funding, including all of CATS' transit corridors. The FTA reviews these projects using a consistent evaluation system that incorporates Congressional intent and makes recommendations to Congress.
As the FTA continues to refine its New Starts program, several changes to its evaluation and rating process have been proposed. These changes include expanded certification of methods and assumptions, costs and ridership forecast and set levels of Federal Full Funding Grants for New Starts at approval of final design. CATS is concerned about some of the proposed changes and criteria and staff has voiced those concerns to the FTA.
CEO's Report:
In response to recent media coverage about CATS' safety record a presentation was given on the topic. Annually CATS' Bus Operators drive over 12 million miles. In FY06, Operators have already driven more than 9.3 million miles. Accidents are tracked monthly/100,000 for BOD and STS. CATS' target accident rate is not to exceed 1.8 per 100,000 miles and year-to-date the rate is 1.63. Both of these numbers are lower than the national average of 2.0 accidents per 100,000 miles.
Also, ridership continues to increase with an 8.1 percent increase in February and a year-to-date increase of 9.1 percent.
The next meeting of the MTC will be April 26, 2006.
