This was the main headline in the final edition of The Charlotte Ledger business newsletter of the year: “Builders shed few tears about planning director’s departure.” Taiwo Jaiyeoba has been Charlotte’s planning director for four years and is leaving to become the city manager of Greensboro.
His departure comes as Charlotte is in the midst of the major task of rewriting its development rules. Jaiyoeba has been a driving force in that effort.
“I don’t think it’s going too far out on a limb to say that Jaiyeoba is one of the more controversial staff members the city of Charlotte has had in recent years,” The Ledger’s Tony Mecia told WFAE’s Marshall Terry on this week’s installment of BizWorthy.
Jaiyeoba has been known for moving Charlotte’s planning in a more progressive direction, and Mecia says some developers thought he was being inflexible. He was a major force in the Charlotte Future 2040 Comprehensive Plan, which narrowly passed a City Council vote earlier this year after a lot of controversies, including over its recommendation to eliminate exclusively single-family zoning.
“A lot of people in the building and real estate industries felt like they really weren’t being listened to, that their views weren’t being taken into account,” Mecia said. “So, now that he’s leaving for Greensboro, a lot of them are telling me, privately, that they’re happy with that. What they will say publicly is that they’re optimistic that, going forward, that they can have a more amicable relationship with the planning department.”
Importantly, Jaiyeoba is leaving as Charlotte begins finalizing its unified development ordinance, which Mecia says essentially “puts teeth behind” the 2040 plan. Alyson Craig will take the reins as interim director.
You can listen to the full BizWorthy conversation above. Here’s a quick look at what else Terry and Mecia talked about this week.
- There’s some more analysis of Jaiyeoba’s departure and what it means for Charlotte’s unified development ordinance.
- Wells Fargo has postponed bringing employees back to corporate offices in Charlotte due because of rising COVID-19 cases.
- Two Charlotte entertainment venues, PNC Music Pavilion and Ovens Auditorium were ranked in the top 10 worldwide for ticket sales according to a report from Pollstar.
