OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Charlotte City Council Zoning Meeting - September 15, 2025

City CouncilMonday, September 15, 2025
BodyCharlotte, North Carolina
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, September 15, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:01:02

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

We start our meetings with uh introductions, and we will start um with our clerk.

0:07

Billy Tons, Deputy City Clerk.

0:10

Good evening, everyone.

0:11

Thanks for coming this evening.

0:12

I'm Tijuana Brown representing Charlotte City Council, District Three.

0:16

Good evening, Marjorie Molina, District Five.

0:19

Allison Craig, Deputy City Manager.

0:21

Good evening, Dante Anderson, Mayor Pro Tim, District 1.

0:24

Malcolm Graham, District 2.

0:26

Dregs, District 7.

0:28

Edwin Peacock, District 6.

0:30

Good evening, Lawana Mayfield, representing you at Locke.

0:33

Good evening, Victoria Watlington, and I have the pleasure of serving you as a council member at large.

0:37

Terry Hagler Gray, Senior Assistant City Attorney.

0:40

Excellent.

0:41

So we began our meetings with an invocation as an expression and inspiration, followed by our Pledge of Allegiance.

0:50

The invocation by the council member is intended to underscore our proceedings.

0:55

And we celebrate the religious diversity of our entire community, including those without a religious faith.

1:04

And tonight, Councilmember Peacock will provide the invitation.

1:09

All right.

1:10

Let us bow our heads.

1:31

May we never take these gifts for granted.

1:34

And we'd be ever mindful that they are other parts of this great nation where there's not so much progress as we see here, or nor is it assured.

1:42

As we gather to consider matters of land use and development, grant us the wisdom and the patience.

1:48

Help us to listen with open minds, speak with clarity and respect, and seek the common good in all our decisions.

1:55

We ask for the courage to lead with integrity, the conviction to act justly, and a renewed sense of purpose to serve our neighbors, whether it's in this room, in our homes, or throughout our city.

2:07

Bless this meeting, bless those who serve behind the scenes, and bless all who call Charlotte home.

2:13

May our work today help shape the city that is much more just and vibrant and welcoming for generations to come.

2:20

And all God's people said.

2:48

So we'll start officially the meeting by providing an explanation of our zoning process.

2:55

And the process begins with applications submitted to our planning staff for review.

3:06

There are decisions and there are hearings.

3:09

Decisions on cases for which a public hearing was previously held.

3:14

We will have no further comment this evening.

3:17

But for hearings, anyone wishing to speak is asked to see our clerk before the start of that particular hearing.

3:26

And we'll go through the staff's presentation, and that has no time limit.

3:31

And the petitioner, um, that is those who are in favor of the petition, get three minutes combined to present their case, unless one of two conditions occur.

3:42

One is there is opposition signed up to speak, or if staff is in opposition, the petitioner gets 10 minutes, the opponent gets 10 minutes, and then the petitioners provided a two-minute rebuttal.

3:58

If no one is opposed or signed up to speak, staff provides a short presentation.

4:04

Uh the hearing is closed and we move forward.

4:07

So I'm at this time I will pass it on to our zoning committee chair, uh, Chair Wilton, who will introduce his committee and uh provide uh greetings.

4:21

Uh thank you, Mayor Pro Tim, and thank you, members of the council.

4:24

My name is Douglas A.

4:25

Welton, and I am the chairman of the zoning committee for the planning commission.

4:30

Allow me to introduce uh the fellow members of my uh committee, and they include Melissa Gaston, Aaron Shaw, Teresa McDonald, Robin Stewart, Carolyn Millen, and Michael Caprioli.

4:42

The zoning committee will meet on Tuesday, September 30th at 5.30 p.m.

4:47

At that meeting, uh the zoning committee will meet to discuss and make recommendations on the petitions that have a public hearing here tonight.

4:55

The public is welcome to come to that meeting, but please note it is not a continuation of the public hearings that are being held here tonight.

5:02

Prior to that meeting, you are welcome to contact us and provide any input that you would like.

5:07

You can find contact information for the zoning committee and information about each one of the petitions that is being heard tonight on Charlotte Planning.org.

5:16

Back to you, Mayor Proton.

5:18

Thank you, uh, Chair Wilton.

5:20

Okay, so we will begin with our consent agenda items.

5:26

Um rezoning petition items three through 15 may be considered in one motion, um, except for those pulled by a council member.

5:36

And please note the following criteria.

5:39

All Mayor Pro Tem, would you like to proceed with the deferrals?

5:44

Yes, I'm sorry, yes.

5:45

We will we'll do that.

5:46

So we do we do have a few items that have been uh deferred this evening, and um I will pass it over to staff to speak to those.

5:58

Thank you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Land Use and Development█████████████████████████████████████████████80%
Procedural███████12%
Parks and Recreation██4%
Affordable Housing2%
Transportation Planning2%
Summary of Proceedings

Charlotte City Council Zoning Meeting - September 15, 2025

The Charlotte City Council Zoning Meeting was held on September 15, 2025, at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. The meeting covered consent agenda items, decisions, and public hearings on rezoning petitions. Councilmember Mayfield voiced frequent opposition citing infrastructure strain. Several items were deferred to October 20, 2025.

Deferrals

  • Decision Item 16 (2025-027) and Hearings Items 20 (2025-025), 21 (2025-030), and 27 (2025-063) were unanimously deferred to October 20, 2025.
  • Item 18 (2025-042) was deferred by Mayor Pro Tem Anderson to the next month's zoning meeting to allow further community work on ingress/egress and other issues.
  • Item 13 (2025-055) was deferred to the next month after substitute motion by Councilmember Mayfield to give community time to work with petitioner.

Consent Calendar

  • Items 3-15 were initially considered as consent, but several were pulled for separate votes. The following items were approved unanimously as consent: Items 4 (2025-009), 7 (2025-046), 10 (2025-050), 11 (2025-053), and 12 (2025-054). Votes on pulled items:
    • Item 3 (2024-141): Approved 10-1 (Mayfield opposed). Councilmember Mayfield opposed citing 575 multifamily attached dwellings, 4,331 potential trips per day (vs. 1,988 current), and infrastructure strain. Councilmember Johnson supported noting it is a for-sale project with traffic improvements, 5.3 acre park donation, and walkability.
    • Item 5 (2025-034): Approved (Mayfield opposed). Mayfield concerned about 79 attached units and 552 additional trips per day.
    • Item 6 (2025-043): Approved unanimously. Councilmember Mayfield questioned why city is rezoning city-owned property proactively; staff explained it's to establish zoning before seeking developers for additional parking at entertainment complex.
    • Item 8 (2025-048): Approved (Mayfield opposed).
    • Item 9 (2025-049): Approved (Mayfield opposed).
    • Item 13 (2025-055): Deferred (see Deferrals).
    • Item 14 (2025-060): Approved (Mayfield opposed). Councilmember Molina praised Mecklenburg County's investment in a 27.47-acre park, noting public benefits including sustainability, open space preservation, exceeding UDO requirements.
    • Item 15 (2025-081): Approved unanimously. Staff explained city is petitioning on behalf of Samaritan's Purse to correct a missed UDO footnote affecting surface parking for their operations.

Decisions

  • Item 17 (2025-040): Approved unanimously.
  • Item 18 (2025-042): Deferred (see Deferrals).
  • Item 19 (2025-056): Approved (Mayfield opposed). Staff noted a fence issue was resolved with site plan amendment; motion not to send back to committee passed unanimously.

Hearings

  • Item 22 (2025-021): Petition by Harold Jordan for vehicle fueling facility on 1.24 acres. Staff recommended against approval due to site constraints. Councilmember Molina opposed, citing inconsistency with 2040 plan, proximity to new 27-acre park, existing gas stations, and low community attendance (3 people). Petitioner acknowledged missed deadline for revised site plan. Public hearing closed; no vote taken as it moves to zoning committee.
  • Item 23 (2024-113): Petition for 1-acre site to zone to IMU. Staff recommended approval. Petitioner described a 10,000 sq ft building nearing completion for office, retail, food/beverage. Public hearing closed unanimously.
  • Item 24 (2025-033): Petition for 40.13 acres to N2-A(CD) for up to 260 townhome-style units. Staff recommended approval pending site design issues. Petitioner noted site is underutilized surface parking at Innovation Park, walking distance to schools and retail. No attendees at community meeting. Public hearing closed unanimously.
  • Item 25 (2025-041): Petition for site plan amendment to eliminate parking requirement for existing hotel. Staff recommended approval upon minor technical revision. Public hearing closed unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • Unanimous consent items approved as listed.
  • Councilmember Mayfield was the only opposed vote on multiple items (Items 3, 5, 8, 9, 14, 19).
  • Deferrals granted to October 20 for one decision and three hearings, and to next month for two items.
  • All hearings closed with no final votes taken; petitions will proceed to Zoning Committee on September 30, 2025.

Meeting Transcript

We start our meetings with uh introductions, and we will start um with our clerk. Billy Tons, Deputy City Clerk. Good evening, everyone. Thanks for coming this evening. I'm Tijuana Brown representing Charlotte City Council, District Three. Good evening, Marjorie Molina, District Five. Allison Craig, Deputy City Manager. Good evening, Dante Anderson, Mayor Pro Tim, District 1. Malcolm Graham, District 2. Dregs, District 7. Edwin Peacock, District 6. Good evening, Lawana Mayfield, representing you at Locke. Good evening, Victoria Watlington, and I have the pleasure of serving you as a council member at large. Terry Hagler Gray, Senior Assistant City Attorney. Excellent. So we began our meetings with an invocation as an expression and inspiration, followed by our Pledge of Allegiance. The invocation by the council member is intended to underscore our proceedings. And we celebrate the religious diversity of our entire community, including those without a religious faith. And tonight, Councilmember Peacock will provide the invitation. All right. Let us bow our heads. May we never take these gifts for granted. And we'd be ever mindful that they are other parts of this great nation where there's not so much progress as we see here, or nor is it assured. As we gather to consider matters of land use and development, grant us the wisdom and the patience. Help us to listen with open minds, speak with clarity and respect, and seek the common good in all our decisions. We ask for the courage to lead with integrity, the conviction to act justly, and a renewed sense of purpose to serve our neighbors, whether it's in this room, in our homes, or throughout our city. Bless this meeting, bless those who serve behind the scenes, and bless all who call Charlotte home. May our work today help shape the city that is much more just and vibrant and welcoming for generations to come. And all God's people said. So we'll start officially the meeting by providing an explanation of our zoning process. And the process begins with applications submitted to our planning staff for review. There are decisions and there are hearings. Decisions on cases for which a public hearing was previously held. We will have no further comment this evening. But for hearings, anyone wishing to speak is asked to see our clerk before the start of that particular hearing. And we'll go through the staff's presentation, and that has no time limit. And the petitioner, um, that is those who are in favor of the petition, get three minutes combined to present their case, unless one of two conditions occur. One is there is opposition signed up to speak, or if staff is in opposition, the petitioner gets 10 minutes, the opponent gets 10 minutes, and then the petitioners provided a two-minute rebuttal. If no one is opposed or signed up to speak, staff provides a short presentation. Uh the hearing is closed and we move forward. So I'm at this time I will pass it on to our zoning committee chair, uh, Chair Wilton, who will introduce his committee and uh provide uh greetings. Uh thank you, Mayor Pro Tim, and thank you, members of the council. My name is Douglas A. Welton, and I am the chairman of the zoning committee for the planning commission. Allow me to introduce uh the fellow members of my uh committee, and they include Melissa Gaston, Aaron Shaw, Teresa McDonald, Robin Stewart, Carolyn Millen, and Michael Caprioli. The zoning committee will meet on Tuesday, September 30th at 5.30 p.m. At that meeting, uh the zoning committee will meet to discuss and make recommendations on the petitions that have a public hearing here tonight. The public is welcome to come to that meeting, but please note it is not a continuation of the public hearings that are being held here tonight. Prior to that meeting, you are welcome to contact us and provide any input that you would like. You can find contact information for the zoning committee and information about each one of the petitions that is being heard tonight on Charlotte Planning.org.

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