We have received the following email from Ed Driggs the current district 7 Charlotte City Council representative. In short the December 18th zoning hearing has been postponed until after the Christmas holidays. (Please read our analysis here).

To all, 

Some of you may have gotten word that the Gillespie rezoning was on the December 18 City Council zoning meeting agenda for a Public Hearing.  The hearing was in fact on the calendar for that date, but I was advised today by Mac McCarley, one of RK Investments’ advisors, that, in order to allow more time for engagement with residents’ representatives, petitioners have agreed to defer the hearing by a month to the January zoning meeting.   

The petitioner is currently reviewing a five-page compilation of concerns that have been raised by residents to see if they can address enough issues to come up with a plan that is more workable from a community standpoint.  It is important to understand that the existing zoning, as translated into the new Unified Development Ordinance classification, would allow for significant development by-right, with no rezoning process or engagement with neighbors. The point of asking the petitioner to respond to a list of residents’ concerns is to see if a solution is possible that would be preferable to the outcome of a by-right development.  I have asked petitioners and our planning staff for some guidance on what a by-right development might look like, to see if a basis for comparison can be established.  In the meantime, as I have stated previously, I have made clear to the petitioner that I will not support the petition in its current form.  

You should also be aware that Charlotte currently has deadlines in place for Public Hearings and decisions on petitions submitted under the old, pre-UDO zoning ordinance.   The requirement is that hearings take place no later than January 2024 and decisions no later than the following month.  Recognizing that this timeline might put pressure on Council and staff to process some petitions like Gillespie hastily, our Planning Director has indicated that Council will now be asked to move the deadlines back a couple of months. 

I am circulating this message to a very long list of people from whom I have received emails about this rezoning.  I regret that I have not been able to respond to all the emails individually, but I assure you I have read them all. 

Ed Driggs

Charlotte City Council District 7

(704) 432-7077