Some Charlotte residents are turning to the courts to try and restrict the building of duplexes and triplexes in their neighborhoods. Under the city’s new development rules, those multifamily units are allowed to be built in areas previously zoned only for single-family homes. City leaders adopted the new rules three years ago to guide Charlotte’s growth and encourage more density. For more, we turn to Ashley Fahey of The Charlotte Ledger for our segment, BizWorthy.
Marshall Terry: We’ll get to the legal action in just a moment. First, why do residents oppose these structures in their neighborhoods, and why do city leaders want more density?
Ashley Fahey: The opposition is for a few reasons. Things like neighborhood character get cited a lot. They’re worried, especially in some of these older, established neighborhoods, that the new housing doesn’t exactly reflect the mid-century character of some of these neighborhoods that were established in the 50s.
Other times the concerns are around traffic. Then other times people are more worried about things like, ‘Will this impact my property values negatively?’ And the reason why the City of Charlotte wants to see more of this housing get built is that it provides a different kind of housing. It’s not just a single-family house, which is very expensive to get built these days. The thinking being if you can build more densely, you can build smaller units, you can build more units, which would then kind of ease some of the housing supply issues we have in Charlotte.
Terry: So what’s the legal approach residents are taking and where specifically is it happening?
Fahey: So we might call it a new approach, but ironically the tool is quite old. A lot of these residents in neighborhoods that include Grove Park, Eastover and Hidden Valley are turning to deed restrictions, some of them date back 60, 70 years ago that were written into their property records to say it could only be used for a single-family dwelling unit.
The thinking is, ‘Maybe we can use this to say these projects are illegal, they can’t be built.’
Terry: How are developers responding?
Fahey: I talked to the guy who built the three-unit townhouse project in Hidden Valley this week, and he says, ‘I followed the UDO, I followed the rules,’ and then referred me to his lawyer. Basically, they’re saying the claims don't hold legal water.
Terry: Let’s go to the airport now. This week Charlotte City Council approved a new 10-year lease agreement between Charlotte Douglas and the airlines that use it. Why is this important for the city’s growth and the business community?
Fahey: I think the first thing that gets brought up when we hear about companies who want to come to Charlotte is our airport. It’s obviously the number of flights that go out of it. We’re a hub for American Airlines. With this lease agreement, it would clear the way for more than $2 billion in expansions at the airport, including an extension of Concourse C. I think all these things are seen as necessary to continue Charlotte’s growth and continue supporting it. This proposed lease, of course, runs for another 10.5 years. I think it was seen as kind of a big thing to get passed this year. It’s been a big topic of conversation on council for many months now. I think a lot of folks were just eager to see it approved.
Terry: Alright, let’s end on an update to the ongoing saga around the former Sycamore Brewing, now Club West Brewing. Remind us quickly how it started and then tell us about the latest news.
Fahey: About a year ago now, which is kind of crazy to think about, there was a scandal that broke out when it was reported that the former co-owner of Sycamore Brewing was arrested on child rape charges. Many people stopped attending Sycamore Brewing. You saw a lot of retailers pulling the products from their shelves, and it led to a lot of questions about what Sycamore Brewing’s next chapter would be. Of course, it rebranded as Club West Brewing earlier this year.
What the Charlotte Observer reported last week was that the brewery sold to an out-of-state investor called Kevin Hadall. Basically, he took ownership of the brewery at the end of September, which seemingly removes all ownership of the former owners of Sycamore and fully puts it under a new owner. He’s an out-of-state entrepreneur. I don’t really know too much about him myself, but he seems excited about charting a new path forward for Club West and continuing on the success in the taproom itself. But I will note they are selling their distribution facility in the North End. I think this is just another sign that their distribution business has maybe not gotten to the level it used to be when it was Sycamore, and it seems like maybe the focus will now be more on the taproom.
Support for BizWorthy comes from the law office of Robertson & Associates and the YMCA of Greater Charlotte.
