Charlotte City Council Business Meeting – April 13, 2026
Charlotte City Council Business Meeting – April 13, 2026
The Charlotte City Council met on April 13, 2026, for a business meeting covering a packed agenda. Key items included the CATS FY2027 budget outlook, street vending regulations, passenger vehicle for hire ordinance updates, housing trust fund recommendations, the Stellar Gospel Music Awards coming to Charlotte, and adoption of community area plans. The meeting also included consent agenda approvals, closed session items, and board nominations.
Consent Calendar
- The council approved the consent agenda (items 44–47 and 49 deferred to April 27) after pulling item 33 (airport customer support services with VIP Hospitality LLC) for discussion. Councilmember Mayfield expressed concerns about wage protections for transitioning employees and legal constraints on the city to mandate wages. After clarification from City Attorney Andrea Leslie-Fight that state law prohibits cities from setting wages for subcontractors, item 33 was approved with a motion by Councilmember Graham and a second by Councilmember JD. (Vote: 8–1, with Councilmember Mayfield opposed.)
Public Comments & Testimony
- A public hearing was held on the Housing and Community Development FY2027 Annual Action Plan (item 8). No speakers registered. The hearing was closed on a motion by Councilmember Driggs, seconded by Councilmember JD.
Discussion Items
- CATS FY2027 Budget Presentation: Interim CEO Brent Cagle presented the first unified budget for the new transit authority, marking the implementation of the 30-year transit plan. Total projected revenues for FY2027 are $572 million, with $571.7 million in expenditures ($314.1 million operating, $224.9 million capital, $18.1 million debt service, and $15 million reserve transfer). Key investments include $5 million for off-duty CMPD, $5 million for fare enforcement, $6 million for Better Bus, and $37 million for the new South End Station. Council members discussed safety metrics, bus stop prioritization, the Red Line’s 50% completion trigger for other rail projects, and community engagement. Councilmember Mayfield emphasized using rider feedback data to prioritize routes, not just ridership numbers. Councilmember JD raised concerns about fare evasion (estimated at 50% systemwide, costing $3–5 million annually). The budget will be subject to a public hearing on May 11, with adoption scheduled for June 18.
- Street Vending Regulations: City Manager Marcus Jones presented a staff proposal to extend regulations citywide and add a criminal penalty (class 3 misdemeanor) for repeat violators, based on benchmarking from peer cities. Multiple council members (Ashmere, Owens, JD, Mayo, Watlington) opposed criminalization, citing equity concerns, potential harm to immigrant and Black entrepreneurs, and the lack of similar penalties for brick-and-mortar businesses. They advocated for streamlined permitting, designated vending zones, and civil enforcement. Councilmember Driggs supported the criminal option as a last resort for bad actors. The council voted 7–2 to send the matter back to the Public Safety Committee for further review, with a motion by Councilmember Mayo and second by Councilmember Graham.
- Passenger Vehicle for Hire (PVH) Ordinance Revisions: City Attorney Andrea Leslie-Fight presented 12 recommendations from a year-long stakeholder process, including application changes, drug screening updates, extending vehicle life from 10 to 15 years, and adding a new section for limos/black cars. The committee recommended against universal upfront pricing due to potential disparities and the cost of a city app. Council members supported most recommendations but requested more research on flat-rate pricing from CLT Airport and incremental billing for black cars. No vote was taken; the item remains under committee consideration.
- Housing Trust Fund Recommendations: Housing Director Rebecca Hefner presented staff recommendations for the third round of the $100 million housing bond. Staff recommended funding four rental housing developments (Mineral Springs Commons 2, Oak Valley Family, Village at Greer Heights, Evoke Living at Willora Lake) totaling $11.2 million, and all homeownership proposals totaling $9.65 million, for a combined 479 rental and 214 homeownership units. Council members raised concerns about location equity, the River District project, and the timing of rezoning approvals (Evoke Living at Willora Lake’s rezoning was approved after the application deadline). A special housing committee meeting was scheduled for the week of April 20, with a vote planned for April 27. The item included a referral to the housing committee to review location policy.
- Stellar Gospel Music Awards Update: CRVA’s Steve Bagwell announced that the 41st Stellar Awards will be held in Charlotte from August 12–15, 2026, at Spectrum Center and Carolina Theatre, with an expected 5,000 out-of-town visitors and broadcast to 3.6 million households. Council members questioned the short timeline and potential financial ask from the city. A motion by Councilmember Mayo, seconded by Councilmember Mayfield, passed 11–0 to refer the creation of a formal process for recruiting and funding major events to the Economic Development Committee.
- Community Area Plans and Policy Map: Planning Director Monica Holmes presented staff-recommended changes to multiple area plans, which were modified by the planning committee. After debate, the council voted to adopt staff’s original changes (overriding planning committee modifications) for the following plans: North Inner, West Middle, East Middle, Outer, West Inner, West Outer, North, East Middle, and Outer. A second motion adopted amendments to previously approved plans (Northeast Inner, East Inner, South Middle, South Outer, Southwest Outer, Southwest Middle, South Inner). A third motion adopted the revised policy map. Council members also discussed the need for data center regulations; staff committed to providing a timeline within 3–6 months.
Key Outcomes
- Consent agenda approved with item 33 (airport services) approved after being pulled for discussion.
- Street vending regulations sent back to the Public Safety Committee for further review.
- Housing trust fund recommendations scheduled for vote on April 27; a special housing committee meeting will be held the week of April 20.
- Community area plans and revised policy map adopted with staff-recommended changes.
- Boards and commissions nominees: all candidates receiving at least six nominations were appointed unanimously by acclamation.
- Closed session held for legal and economic development matters.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. And I thank you all for joining us here in person. Those watching online. Let's start with introductions going around the room, starting with our city clerk. Billy Tons, Deputy City Clerk. Andrea Leslie Fight, City Attorney. Good evening, Victoria Watlington, member at large. James Mitchell, Mayor Pro Tim. Marcus Jones, City Manager. Kimberly Owens representing District Six. Malcolm Graham, District Two. Good evening, Luana Mayfield, Councilmember at Large. Good evening, JDMA Suera Adias, uh, District Five. And I have two outstanding colleagues who's gonna join us. Um Miss Asmir. Temple Ashmar at Large. Miss Mayo? Councilmember Joy Mayo, representing District Three. Thank you all for being here for our business meeting agenda review. I'm gonna turn it over to City Manager to you to introduce the one and only. Okay. So thank you, Mayor Pro Tim. Uh we'll start off with uh our um agenda of review where we'll have any questions that you have from uh Marie. And I'll say after that, we have a pretty stacked agenda today. We have the cats budget outlook, and we have a number of items that have made their way through the committee process, like the street vending regulation, the safety committee, as well as the passenger vehicle for higher ordinance from the safety committee, uh, the housing trust fund from the housing committee, and we'll have a stellar awards update. I do believe we have three uh closed session items for uh today. And Mayor Pratim, unless you have any questions, I'll turn it over to Marie. Okay. Uh one if I may the distinguished colleague from District Seven join us, so can he introduce himself? Ed Drake's District 7. Good evening. Thank you, Mr. Drake. Miss Harris. Thank you, and good evening, Mayor Pro Tim and Council. And at your seat, you'll find um additional information on some of the consent items and clarifications you've asked for this evening, and at this time I'd like to take any other questions or any highlights you'd make like to make. So we did definitely we want to have at least five. So we have four, um, and then we're gonna be putting it out again um here shortly to your point since we only have one to hopefully get at least one more. Thank you, Marie. And uh, mayor protect from my may, I have another question. Yes, sir. Thank you. Um, I have it um for agenda item 33 airport customer support services for terminal operations, a contract with VIP hospitality LLC. Um, since this is a subcontractor potentially hired by the city, um, how are we ensuring that they are um held accountable to ensure good wages uh benefits and safety standards to their employees? So, as far as the safety and training, they definitely are trained um by our staff on the specific uh requirements of their duty, and while we don't have the legal authority to dictate, you know, we work with vendors as much as possible. And this one, the lowest wage would be 17 dollars an hour, and that's for entry level with no experience. So they do have the opportunity to continue to grow and they have benefits and retirement and time off with their employer. Thank you, Marie. Uh, no further questions, Mayor Pro Tem. Thank you.
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