Nathan2

Again, Why have we not heard one peep from Charlotte Council members on these issues? I feel like part of the reason transit continues to worsen is because no one but a few online urbanists are holding them accountable.

Until you look at the 2040 Plan Map and realize that most of the city even in fairly urban areas is considered low-density suburban areas. https://charlotte.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=4dc02a1a85974085af7b36c33474efe0

I can't believe the city hasn't required this already. Where I work we have specific design requirements and require elevation submittals for every site plan (that is not a single-family home) in order to ensure better cohesion with the street.

This is great, but also kind of funny. The fact that Charlotte is completely unwilling to allow significant density outside of the south boulevard corridor and continues to artificially inflate the surrounding single-family neighborhoods' values is why we won't ever solve our housing crisis. Eventually, something will have to give and people will not be able to freeze the surrounding neighborhoods in time.

That is not entirely true. The state has added regressive limits on design standards, but these regulations only apply to N.C. Residential Code for One and Two-family dwellings. The restrictions do not apply to multi-family housing or non-residential dwellings. If the city is claiming they can't do anything about the aesthetics and design of multi-family and commercial buildings then they are just straight up lying. https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BySection/Chapter_160D/GS_160D-702.pdf

Parking garages shouldn’t be allowed unless it’s completely hidden behind a usable structure. So tired of seeing these lazy, uninspiring, crap garage screenings. They have become a shrine to car culture ( looking at you 110 East).

Can we talk about this building. Why are we still building such suburban frontages in such a growing urban area. There is no entrance facing the street, relatively narrow sidewalk surrounded by suburban grass strips that will end up being dead grass and mud. The neighborhood deserves better design than this.

https://youtu.be/g9O6RzsXIqQ The new Montreal REM is everything the silver line and future transit in Charlotte should strive for. The notable thing is that this project was first announced in 2016 and the first phase is already in operation. The automated trains would solve CATS issue of staffing.

It's not that people don't like town centers, it's that people don't like when developers call it a mixed-use pedestrian town center and then they make 60% of the project surface parking lots and sprawling developments that require a car. The River District is a terrible misuse of some of the last bit of undeveloped land in Charlotte. Instead of giving this land a thought-out decent design they have gone the easy and cheap route. Suburban neighborhoods can be walkable and car-lite, but this is not that, this is pure car-oriented sprawl packaged to look like a walkable community.

As a planner in the Mecklenburg County area, this is for sure a problem. Almost every project that comes in the door is a copy/paste design that lacks any context to the site they are building at. These projects usually require multiple meetings pulling teeth to get basic context added to their sites. It's sad that architects and designers have lost pride in the work they produce. Of course, I can also appreciate that sometimes their hands are tied by the financial entity backing the project or local zoning limitations.

I can't remember the last time city council members have even brought it up. They are supposed to be advocated of these things and they just don't seem to care as with just about everything else for this city lately besides giving money to sports billionaires.

Part of the reason construction costs and rent are so high is because they are being forced to build podium parking.

I think people would live in car-free or car-lite structures, I just don't think the market has given anyone the chance. Lenders are so stuck in their old ways they don't take chances. Spacecraft has been successful so I would think something similar would work even better in Southend. This is exactly the problem. We shouldn't care about building height and skylines when the pedestrian environment is crap. You don't need 20-story towers to make a great dense neighborhood, especially if everyone is in a car anyways. Some of the densest cities in the world average buildings no taller than 4-5 stories.

I mean just because the south end is one of the densest neighborhoods in the southeast doesn't negate the fact that it makes up just ~2 square miles of Charlottes sprawling 312 square miles. I think the tower size is blown out of proportion as well in south end since half of the buildings are equally just parking podiums.

And Here is what is will look like.

Knowing CATS, I doubt they have had much conversation with NCDOT.

NCDOT is never going to learn. Throwing that much money at independence is not going to solve its problems. The problem is that this road was ever allowed to turn into the monstrosity that it is today. By the time this thing gets off the ground its going to cost north of $300 million. I know the state doesn't allow it but there really needs to be studies done on these projects to prove that the money spent is actually worth it.

Maybe I am not understanding or know all the background information but why is saving the current structures a good thing? The current layout is extremely low density. I would imagine that money could be better spent by vastly increasing density and giving more people the opportunity to find affordable housing? Seems like the land is being considerably underutilized.

I understand it's byright. That doesn't excuse them for creating policies that allow this type of development to occur.

I, unfortunately, don't see the will from the city council to do this at all in the near future. They are currently more than happy to allow our streets to be lined with massive podiumed parking garages. We are going up against the idea from most people that there is somehow not enough parking.

This is embarrassing. The city won't thrive when you are surrounded by parking garages and half-assed attempts at retail and plazas. It's embarrassing that we have a city that is perfectly fine with sitting back and letting developers put in whatever low-quality crap they want. Do they even look at their policies when approving this stuff? Is Vision zero, a reduction in car commutes by 50%, and climate change emissions reductions just words they put in fancy presentations for the hell of it? Besides a few good developments going in the city seems to be fumbling on almost every level.

The modern building we see is a symptom of bad zoning and could be mitigated. easy solutions: remove the minimum parking mandates that force structures into expensive and odd layouts. Get rid of crazy articulation requirements for multi-family, this ends up adding costs and looking fairly ugly, there's a reason old brick buildings are beloved. Get rid of unnecessary setback rules that limit housing and increase costs.

There are many available lots that are currently underutilized as single-family homes. It's important for policies to incentivize and allow these lots to adapt to the market's needs. The rising prices in the market demonstrate a strong demand (for more infill). However, the notion that everyone can live in a single-family home with a large yard within close proximity to amenities is unrealistic. Conversely, giving up on the most walkable and amenity-rich neighborhoods is not a solution. While densifying suburbs is beneficial, it doesn't fully address transportation concerns and long-term infrastructure expenses.

It appears that my initial assumptions were premature. After reviewing the city's Historic design standards document, it seems that there may still be an opportunity to construct multifamily buildings. However, the requirements outlined in the document would likely increase both the cost and time associated with the project. The height, scale, and context regulations could also present challenges when trying to introduce new density into a neighborhood dominated by single-family homes. I still agree with the general statement on Dilworth and many similar neighborhoods as the main goals of all of these regulations are to limit and slow down growth. Growth is needed in existing neighborhoods not in the exurbs. https://www.charlottenc.gov/files/sharedassets/city/growth-and-development/planning-and-zoning/documents/hdcdesignstandards.pdf

I mean he's not wrong. It's a neighborhood where almost every home now is reaching a million bucks. They have effectively stamped out the competition by limiting what you can and can't build there. Elizabeth isn't much better but it's on its way to the same fate if they approve historic status.