City Council Could Make Changes To New UDO Policy On Duplexes & Triplexes

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – This week changes go into effect allowing duplexes and triplexes in neighborhoods zoned as single-family only.

It’s part of Charlotte’s new Unified Development Ordinance.

But now, City Council could consider last minute changes.

“This has been a great place to live. It’s been a great neighborhood. It has a lot of diverse people in it,” says neighbor Wayne Frazier.

Frazier has lived in the Rolling Acres neighborhood since 1991.

Like so many others, he loves the peace and quiet in the community off Back Creek Church Road and Rocky River Road.

“We love the lots that are big enough so that we have trees and canopy,” Frazier says.

But now neighbors worry that could change.

Thursday, Charlotte’s new Unified Development Ordinance goes into effect.

The UDO allows for duplex and triplex type homes to be built alongside single family homes.

“It just makes it just seem so compact and so crowded. And if they’re gonna do that, just throughout the neighborhood, it’s just going to change the whole, the whole dynamic,” says neighbor Jessica Kingsberry.

The concerns are leading City Council to take a second look.

Last week, Council approved a motion made by James Mitchell to have the planning committee revisit the UDO’s policy on duplexes and triplexes.

That evoked a sharp response from Councilmember Braxton Winston, who supports the changes.

“It is an attempt to preserve the tool, the number one tool that not just here in Charlotte, but in North Carolina, and all over this country that has been used to segregate communities,” Winston said.

In the meantime, neighbors in Rolling Acres hope an existing covenant will exempt them from the new rules.

They plan to file paperwork when it’s available on June 1st.

But they worry about enforcement.

They say covenants have already been ignored, with homes being built outside what’s currently allowed.

“We just love all the space of all of our property and we value it,” says neighbor Doreen Boyer.

She and Robert Boyer say if the changes happen, they worry about property values if they decide to sell their home.

“I’m just concerned that people may not want to buy our house if there’s a lot of duplexes and triplexes in the neighborhood,” Boyer says.