Charlotte’s 2040 plan may not be a mandate, but it’s not a failure

Charlotte City Council is expected to vote on the 2040 Comprehensive Plan Monday following months of intense debate. The plan, which addresses everything from affordable housing to public transit, is meant to guide the city’s growth and development over the next two decades. Instead, it has underscored just how rocky the path might be.

The council has spent months wrestling over the contents of the plan, holding tense public hearings and throwing more than a few jabs at one another. One council member, Tariq Bokhari, called for the dismissal of planning director Taiwo Jaiyeoba over his handling of the plan. Jaiyeoba and Tracy Dodson, Charlotte’s economic development director, engaged in some internal and testy sparring, according to memos first reported by Axios Charlotte last week and later shared with the Observer.

Leaders had hoped to eventually reach a consensus on some of the plan’s more contentious issues, but the council is expected to adopt the plan on a narrow 6-5 margin.

The most controversial aspect of the plan is a provision that would allow duplexes and triplexes in single-family areas in a push for equity and affordability. Some say the increased density could increase gentrification or undermine the city’s character. Others say it’s an important step toward undoing decades of racial segregation in these areas.

But with a seemingly insurmountable rift among elected officials and city planners, developers and neighborhood advocates, what does the future of the plan look like?

“If we pass this thing with six votes, no one’s going to give a damn the day after it passes,” council member Malcolm Graham said at a meeting earlier this month.

He may be right. Which is why it’s important to remember what this plan is and is not.

Here’s what the 2040 Comprehensive Plan is, according to the city: “The roadmap to creating a vibrant city that offers opportunities and amenities for everyone.” That roadmap will help the city “create a path for our city’s growth.” It will “serve as a shared vision for Charlotte’s growth and development.” It will “provide an updated blueprint that guides how land is used, what infrastructure we invest in and how new policies are developed.”

If all of that sounds somewhat like a vision plan, well, yes. Charlotte has a long tradition of adopting vision plans - but mixed success in following them. In 1966, Charlotte’s A.G. Odell Plan presciently called for a downtown sports stadium and high-profile parks. But Charlotte also has a history of forgetting long-term visions in favor of developers’ short-term projects.

At best, vision and comprehensive plans can serve as a blueprint for the future, a guiding philosophy to cling to amid a sea of changes. But ultimately, a vision plan is just that: a vision. It isn’t binding, so there’s nothing stopping city leaders from changing course in the near or long-term future. And critics of the 2040 Comprehensive plan have a point - if the council narrowly adopts it Monday night, the plan won’t be much of a mandate.

That doesn’t mean the exercise isn’t worth the effort. The 2040 plan highlights important issues for Charlotte, and gathering stakeholders for a purposeful public discussion is valuable and instructive. Charlotte remains one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S., but that growth has strained infrastructure and amplified inequities throughout our city and region.

This council, along with Mayor Vi Lyles, has made early, meaningful strides in confronting such issues - especially in addressing Charlotte’s affordable housing crisis. We encourage the council not to back away from thorny discussions surrounding single-family zoning and Community Benefit Agreements. A 6-5 vote may not be a mandate, but it’s also no reason to shelve a vision of a more equitable Charlotte.