Calendar Details:
Monday, September 14
3:30 pm - Transportation Committee Meeting, Room 280. AGENDA: Non-system Residential Street Program
5:00 pm - Council Business Meeting
Wednesday, September 16
12:00 pm - Economic Development & Planning Committee Meeting-CANCELLED
Thursday, September 17
12:00 pm - Community Safety Committee Meeting, Room 280. AGENDA: Rental Property Ordinance; Towing Practices at Apartment Complexes
Agenda Notes:
Agenda Item #4 – Non Residential Building Code Ordinance Update
Resource:
Walter Abernathy, Neighborhood and Business Services, 704-336-4213, wabernathy@charlottenc.gov
On September 9, 2009 the Housing and Neighborhood Development Committee voted unanimously (Burgess, Barnes, Cooksey and Lassiter) to approve the proposed Non-Residential Building Code Ordinance with a six-month implementation process and to change the name of the Housing Appeals Board to the Housing and Commercial Structures Appeals Board. Staff will provide a brief update on the proposed Non-Residential Building Code Ordinance during Council's September 14, 2009 dinner briefing and will request Council's approval of the new ordinance on September 28, 2009.
The Appeals Board name change will require an amendment to Section 11-43 of the City Code and a public hearing. If Council approves the name change in concept on September 28, staff will advertise the proposed change and place a public hearing and action item on Council's agenda at a later date as part of the implementation process.
Agenda Items #11 and #15 – Solid Waste Services Reorganization and Implementation of Single Stream Recycling
Resource:
Victoria Garland, Solid Waste Services, 704-336-3410, vgarland@ci.charlotte.nc.us
Solid Waste Services is continuing preparation for reorganization of its service delivery model for residential garbage, yard waste, bulky item collections, and implementation of citywide residential single-stream recycling collection. The recycling collection will be outsourced. These service changes require that several items be presented to Council for approval or information. The service reorganization requires Council approval of performance evaluation procedures and the purchase of capital equipment (trucks). The implementation of single-stream recycling requires Council approval of a service contract award to a private solid waste company. Inland Services, the current service provider for the West collection zone, is the recommended contractor. Council will also receive a briefing about the public education campaign for the single-stream recycling program. A plan of action for attaining rollout containers needed for single-stream recycling collection is pending, and staff will advise Council at a later date.
Below is the timeline for the presentation to Council of completed items:
September 14, 2009
- Request for Council action for approval of Solid Waste Services performance evaluation procedures for the reorganized service delivery model (Item No. 11);
- Request for Council action for approval of capital equipment purchase for reorganized service delivery model (Item No. 15);
September 28, 2009
- Council dinner meeting briefing about the pending recommendation to award a citywide single-stream recycling collection contract to Inland Services;
October 12, 2009
- Request for Council action to approve award of a citywide single-stream recycling collection contract to Inland Services;
November 9, 2009
- Council dinner meeting briefing about the planned public education campaign for the new residential single-stream recycling collection program.
Information Items:
FY2009 Year End Corporate Performance Report
Resource:
Ruffin Hall, Budget and Evaluation, 704-336-3403, rlhall@ci.charlotte.nc.us
Attached is the FY2009 Year-End Corporate Performance Report. The report presents highlights of achievements and challenges on organizational objectives as outlined in the Council Focus Areas, Corporate Scorecard, and Key Business Unit scorecards.
The performance information helps staff assess the City's progress in meeting the needs of the community. Staff intends to address areas where performance does not meet expectations as well as build upon the many accomplishments identified in the report. The focus continues to be achievement of priorities and initiatives in support of Council's Focus Areas and the organization's Corporate Objectives.
Please do not hesitate to contact the City Manager's Office or the Budget and Evaluation Office if you have any questions about the FY2009 Year-End Corporate Performance Report. The report is also available on the City's website www.charmeck.org or www.charmeck.org/cibudget.
Media Report on Ozone/Air Quality Modeling
Resource:
Danny Pleasant, CDOT, 704-336-3879, dpleasant@ci.charlotte.nc.us
A Charlotte Observer article on Wednesday and an editorial today address the City staff's air quality modeling work on behalf of MUMPO. It is appropriate to clarify and correct some of the information in those stories.
- The USEPA's administration of the Clean Air Act has addressed air quality and ozone pollution in several ways – and has been successful in substantially improving air quality by reducing emissions from automobiles, factories, and power plants.
- Another element of the federal program is designed to incent local governments to plan local transportation networks that will help clean the air. The EPA requires our Long Range Transportation Plan to test whether planned road and transit improvements will collectively allow air quality standards to be met.
- Charlotte Department of Transportation staff prepares this "conformity" analysis using models and procedures prescribed by the EPA and state government. Aspects of that work misconstrued in the articles include:
- Air quality in the Charlotte metro area is improving and will continue to improve as automobiles, factories, and power plants become cleaner. This past summer, the area experienced the best ozone season in its history of measuring air quality. Indeed, in 2009, the Charlotte area recorded no violations of either the current standard (84 parts per billion) or the more rigorous future standard (75 ppb.)
- The article focused on the travel forecasting models we have been using over the past 10 years to prepare the MUMPO long range transportation plans. By law, the plans are revised every four years to account for changing conditions such as development patterns, travel behaviors and funding availability. Similarly, the models are constantly refined and updated as better techniques are advanced.
- The model we use to forecast travel by automobile is the same one used to forecast transit ridership. This model is tightly prescribed and approved by the Federal Transit Administration and is critical to qualifying for hundreds of millions of federal transit dollars in addition to highway dollars.
- The models and the assumptions made to prepare travel forecasts are developed through collaboration among several federal agencies, NCDOT, MUMPO member jurisdictions, and the City's role as MUMPO's staff. The NC Division of Air Quality uses the output of the travel forecasting models as input into their air quality models, which the EPA reviews and approves.
- The article implies that the transportation plan somehow is deficient because detailed air quality assessments were not done for each major highway project within the plan. The purpose of the plan is to demonstrate how a comprehensive set of projects and strategies will serve the future growth and mobility of the region. The plan requires testing whether the collection of projects will thwart the region's ability to comply with federal air quality standards in the future. Detailed assessments of air quality impacts are required as part of environmental evaluations for individual projects when selected for advancement and funded. In fact, Environmental Impact Statements have been prepared for the Monroe Bypass/Collector, the Gaston Parkway and the remaining I-485 segment.
- The article also suggested that the plan did not project where people would be living and working in the future. On the contrary, one of the first steps in the planning process is to gather future housing and employment projections from jurisdictions throughout the region. Through a collaborative process, that data is balanced against regional growth forecasts, allocated according to growth plans, and reflected in the travel forecasting model.
The long range transportation plans for MUMPO have been prepared according to federal and state rules. They have been approved by multiple federal and state agencies, as well as MUMPO. The process for preparing the plans is open and transparent. All assumptions that go into the plans have been vetted through public dialogue at MUMPO meetings leading up to adoption of the plans. The process is collaborative, involving contributions of many federal, state, and local agencies. Our staff's technical work has been sound and has been conducted with integrity and professionalism.
In summary, our work reflects the priorities and policy of local jurisdictions and we follow the rules, procedures and methods prescribed and approved by other levels of government. The conformity analysis is one component of the federal strategy to achieve cleaner air, and we continue to work diligently to take all steps available to further that goal for our region.
Sedgefield Elementary Safe Routes to School Infrastructure Grant
Resource:
Vivian Coleman, CDOT, 704-353-0481, vcoleman@ci.charlotte.nc.us
The N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has awarded a $235,000 grant for a Safe Routes to School Infrastructure project at Sedgefield Elementary School. The City of Charlotte will be the lead agency to implement this grant, in partnership with Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools and the Mecklenburg County Health Department. Safe Routes to School is a federal program, designed to increase physical activity by children by encouraging them to walk or ride bicycles to school.
Through its Safe Routes to School Program NCDOT awarded approximately $1.1 million in grants to six projects in the Charlotte metro region. Two of the projects are in Charlotte, at Sedgefield Elementary School and Olde Providence Elementary School. The others are in Belmont, Mooresville, Shelby and Waxhaw. Only thirteen applications were selected out of the seventy-six received from across the state. Grants will be administered on a cost reimbursement basis.
Mecklenburg County will be the lead agency to implement the Olde Providence Elementary School non-infrastructure grant. This grant will be used to start pedestrian and bicycle safety programs.
The Sedgefield Elementary School grant includes the following infrastructure improvements: installation of bike racks; installation of sidewalk along Hollis Road (between Hartford Avenue and Anson Street) and on Anson Street (between Hollis Road and Hartford Avenue); driveway modifications to the school entrance on Hartford Avenue; and modifications to the alignment of the Auburn Avenue-Melbourne Court intersection.
