CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte City Council will soon vote on a city ordinance that will guide its development and growth for nearly 20 years.
What You Need To Know
The Charlotte Unified Development Ordinance aims to guide Charlotte’s development and growth
Changes in zoning for single family homes is one of the points of contention of the plan
Laura Belcher and Lorena Castillo-Ritz have differing opinions on whether multifamily housing is allowed in single family zones
The Charlotte Unified Development Ordinance includes regulations involving zoning, streets and tree canopy. This is the primary tool to implement the Charlotte Future 2040 plan.
Residents and council members are divided on a proposal that would change zoning. It would allow duplexes and triplexes to be built in areas currently zoned as single family neighborhoods. Quadruplexes would also be allowed on arterial streets in these zoning districts, if there is an affordable housing unit.
According to The New York Times, 84% of Charlotte’s residential land is zoned for single family homes.
Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region President and CEO Laura Belcher said the change would allow the nonprofit organization to build in more areas of Charlotte and increase affordable options for low-income families.
“We need more options in order to build the units we need, in order to address: one the unaffordability and two the population growth,” Belcher said.
Habitat helps families needing affordable housing become homeowners. It provides them a mortgage within their budget after they invest hundreds of hours into building their own home and receiving financial education.
“One of my favorite things is when we are able to finally hand the keys to a new homeowner,” Belcher said.
The nonprofit developer builds about 50 houses a year, and it processed 1,200 applications in the past 12 months.
“The discrepancy between supply and demand is huge,” Belcher said.
Funding influences its number of builds, but Charlotte’s UDO would give Habitat more flexibility on the type of houses it works on.
Belcher said Habitat will continue building single family homes in neighborhoods it makes sense.
The nonprofit though projects 30% of its builds in the next year will be townhomes, which is an estimate with the current zoning.
Belcher said increasing costs for land and construction make affordable housing tricky.
“We’re spending close to $200,000 to build a home now where a couple of years ago, we were spending $150,000,” Belcher said.
Lorena Castillo-Ritz supports Habitat’s mission and is in favor of building more affordable housing.
"I’m all for getting people into their first home. I have three children. They need to buy their first home, just like I did,” Castillo-Ritz said.
She added she agrees with some aspects included in the UDO.
“It is necessary to a vastly growing Charlotte,” Castillo-Ritz said.
However, she doesn’t support removing regulations that prevent duplexes and townhomes to be built in areas currently zoned as single family.
She’s concerned about traffic, construction and congestion compromising the charm of neighborhoods like hers.
Castillo-Ritz also worries there would be a shortage of single family homes, and they become more expensive.
“My concern is that the people who are going to reap the benefits are the [for-profit] developers [and landlords],” Castillo-Ritz said.
She suggests building smaller single family homes instead of multifamily housing, which she foresees for-profit developers selling them at an expensive price.
“What it’s going to do is hurt the exact population … that this document says it’s trying to help,” Castillo-Ritz said.
She said she doesn’t think the current infrastructure can handle more development.
“To abolish single family home zones is going to the extreme to put a Band-Aid on a broken arm,” Castillo-Ritz said.
Belcher said the change would help more than just affordable housing.
“I think neighborhoods are really benefiting from different housing types and mixed income of residents. I think creates a more holistic community,” Belcher said.
The Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition also provided feedback for the UDO.
Chair Brenda Hayden, who is also the team leader at Keller Williams Realty University, said the housing inventory in Charlotte is low.
On Monday, active and upcoming house listings showed 1,749 for sale. This includes single family homes, condos and townhomes.
Nearly 1,300 of them are single family homes. However, once you set filter by price the number of available houses dwindles down quickly.
“If we want to continue to grow as a city, we have to be able to have the housing stock, various housing stock, in order to house those that are coming,” Hayden said.
Hayden anticipates supply and demand to continue to dictate home prices and not the UDO.
She’s supportive of the zoning change.
Last week, the city had a public hearing on the second draft of the UDO.
Based on feedback, city staff added some changes for the planning commission to consider.
On Aug. 15, the city will release the UDO adoption draft release. The city council will vote on the plan on Aug. 22, which will be after the general election for mayor and council on July 26.