Information Items:
On September 21, 2007, the Charlotte Observer editorial section identified several issues regarding the rezoning notification process. The following responds to and clarifies issues raised in the editorial.
1. Issue: A critical step in the rezoning process did not work because on two petitions residents and neighborhood leaders said they didn't receive written notifications of meetings.
Staff Response: At the public hearing, residents expressed concern about not being notified on only one petition (#2007-114), not two as indicated in the article. Residents said they did not receive a notice from the petitioner of a Community Meeting hosted by the petitioner. The notification of adjacent property owners and neighborhood leaders for the Community meeting is the responsibility of the petitioner, not Planning staff. However, the mailing list was provided by the Planning Department to the petitioner. The contact information is taken from the Mecklenburg County Land Records Management Department's property ownership files. Staff verified that the mailing list provided to the petitioner was accurate and as up-to-date as possible. The petitioner indicated at the hearing that they have a receipt for 56 letters they mailed. Also at the hearing, staff recommended that the petitioner hold another public meeting and Council agreed with staff's recommendation.
2. Issue: The Neighborhood Organization List is not up to date and includes deceased individuals.
Staff Response: The Zoning Ordinance does not require that neighborhood leaders be notified as part of the rezoning process. However, for several years it has been the City's policy to notify neighborhood organizations within a mile of the proposed site to be rezoned. The Neighborhood Organization List is currently maintained by the Planning Department but relies heavily on resident leaders' willingness to update information for their organizations. Staff conducts an extensive update every other year and depends on community police coordinators, the Neighborhood Symposium and other public meetings to update information in the off years. Next year, 2008, will be the year for the extensive update effort. In addition, the Neighborhood Organization list is posted on the Planning Department's website and allows citizens to add or update the information directly into the list.
3. Issue: The Land Use Committee of the Dilworth Community Development Association was not notified of a substantial revision to a text amendment, and withdrew their support.
Staff Response: The draft language for Petition #2007-119 (text amendment) was distributed at the July meeting of the Historic District Commission to convey to them the purpose and intent of the proposed changes. The draft was also sent to the City Attorney's Office for review and comment. The consensus of the Attorney's Office was that the regulations were too broad, and should be narrowed because the zoning authority granted to the City Council could not be reassigned to the Historic District Commission, an advisory board. Because of this advice, staff amended the text by adding two words to describe that only the "exterior design" regulations of the Historic Overlay District would take precedence over, or supersede, the underlying base zoning district. This revision was made on July 10, 2007 and posted on the website, and is the same version included in the Council's Rezoning Notebook. No special effort was made to send the revised copy of the text to DCDA or any other group. Staff has since implemented a tracking process to ensure that revisions and updates are clearly identified and are posted in a timely manner. Staff regrets this oversight, and has set into place procedures that would prevent this in the future.
The Transportation Action Plan (TAP) calls for the Bicycle Plan to be updated every five years. The City of Charlotte adopted the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Bicycle Transportation Plan in 1999. CDOT will host a public workshop to "kick-off" preparation of the City of Charlotte Bicycle Plan at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, October 10 in Room 267 of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center.
Persons attending the workshop will be invited to provide comments and make suggestions on ways to help create a more bicycle-friendly Charlotte. Staff and consultants will present information regarding the current status of bicycling in Charlotte and identify opportunities to make Charlotte more bicycle-friendly. The workshop will include interactive workstations where workshop participants will be encouraged to describe potential bike routes and identify difficult intersections and other barriers to cycling. Participants also will have an opportunity to discuss educational programs, define strengths and weaknesses of bicycling in Charlotte and assess the existing and planned bicycle facility map from the TAP.
City staff is working with a stakeholder committee to develop the Bicycle Plan. We expect to complete work on the Bicycle Plan by spring 2008. We will hold a second public meeting around February 2008.
