Compiled from REBIC, staff reports

REBIC’s Rob Nanfelt reported Tuesday that the City’s Planning Committee is taking up the matter of the proposed Unified Development Ordinance. Next month, committee members will take any additional recommendations before the third/final draft.

Last week, the Charlotte City Council received comments from the community during a public hearing on the proposed UDO. Click here to view the resolution. The entire hearing is available to view here – beginning approximately at the 2:51:30 mark.   

Next is a review and recommendation from the City’s Planning Committee scheduled to begin Tuesday, July 19, at 5 p.m. Those interested can view it on the City’s Planning Department YouTube Channel. The complete agenda and meeting packet is available here.

REBIC's Rob Nenfelt and his team put together this week's Two For Tuesday and UDO takes center stage early next week.

UDO - Public Hearing Scheduled for Monday

The Charlotte City Council has scheduled a public hearing on the proposed Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) for Monday, July 11. The Council Action Review begins at 5:00 pm followed by the Public Forum/Business meeting at 6:30 pm. An agenda should be available here by Friday afternoon. Click here to sign up to speak. 

Also, Planning Staff has just released responses to public comments submitted prior to last Thursday's deadline. Additional changes will be reflected in the next and likely final draft when it is released which will occur prior to the expected vote on adoption in late August. Here's a link to the page containing the Second Draft Public Comments - With Staff Responses.

For additional UDO resources, please visit Charlotte's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) - (charlotteudo.org).

Originally published by Marta Soncodi for NAIOP's Spring 2021 Issue.

A new ratings system quantifies how effective they are across several important criteria. 

Investing in smart building technology may not be seen as a priority after commercial real estate investments were hit especially hard in 2020. However, if improving tenant experience was being considered before the pandemic, it’s now an imperative.

Why should commercial real estate owners consider investing in smart building technology upgrades? Based on research and industry analysis, fully integrated smart systems can increase building efficiency, optimize facility operations, improve occupant safety, security and wellbeing, and enhance end-user preferences. And, in light of the pandemic, stakeholders — commercial real estate companies, building owners, managers, and tenants — should examine the competitive advantages of smart building technology. 

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Posted June 27, 2018

As the North Carolina General Assembly winds down an unusually short Short Session in Raleigh, Realtors®, home builders, property managers and developers are looking at some legislative victories — along with some unfinished business.

First, the wins …

• HB 948 – Building Code Regulatory Reform — Clarifies existing language allowing licensed architects and engineers to certify components or elements of a building, without the need for a city or county inspection; gives builders the ability to request inspections from a state program in the event a local inspection can’t be provided within 48 hours; and, provides greater flexibility to the State Qualifications Board to grant provisional licenses to code enforcement officials. Thanks to Representative Mark Brody for his leadership in sponsoring this bill!
  Status: On Governor’s Desk
• SB 224 — Landlord Recovery Expenses — Allows landlords to recover legal fees and other out-of-pocket expenses in summary ejectment cases. The legislation was introduced in response to a recent Superior Court decision that required a landlord to reimburse a tenant nearly $200 in eviction expenses after he paid his past-due balance.
  Status: On Governor’s Desk
• HB 826 – Clarify System Development Fees — Clarifies and streamlines the water/sewer capacity fee authority approved for local governments in 2017. Thanks to Senator Paul Newton for his work on this important legislation.
  Status: On Governor’s Desk
• SB 99 — Appropriations Act of 2018 — The state budget includes a crucial provision that allows contractors who pay tax on materials covered under the Repair, Maintenance & Installation (RMI) sales tax provision to pay those taxes at the retail level and receive credit from the Department of Revenue.
  Status: Session Law 2018-5

Now the unfinished business …

Posted on June 25, 2018

The North Carolina General Assembly approved last week's legislation that would make substantive reforms to local building permitting and inspection processes both Mecklenburg County and statewide.

HB 948 – ‘Building Code Regulatory Reform‘ was sponsored by Rep. Mark Brody (Union), and makes some very beneficial changes to the permitting and inspection process that would benefit both home builders and commercial developers. They include:

• Clarifies existing language allowing a licensed architect/engineer to certify a component or element of a building, without the need for a city or county to inspect and approve that component.
• Gives the State Department of Insurance the statutory authority to assign Marketplace Pool inspectors to conduct an inspection in the event the local officials cannot provide one within 2 business days of a request.
• Provide greater flexibility for the State Q-Board to grant provisional licenses to Code Enforcement officials who are certified and in good standing in other states, which will help address the growing issue of inspector vacancies across North Carolina.

HB 948 is now awaiting Governor Cooper’s signature. Thanks to the North Carolina Home Builders Association (NCHBA) for their leadership on this critical piece of legislation.

Posted on March 2, 2018

An Energy Code exemption championed by REBIC and NAIOP will finally take effect this week, after the Rules Review Commission set an effective date of March 1, 2018, for N.C. Session Law 2017-10, formerly known as SB131.

Language in the bill, which was signed into law during the 2017 session of the General Assembly,  excludes from state Energy Efficiency Code requirements any buildings with the following use classifications:

• Factory Group F
• Storage Group S
  
• Utility & Miscellaneous Group U
  

Furthermore, language in the legislation introduced by Representative Bill Brawley ensures that the energy code exclusion ‘shall apply to the entire floor area of any structure’ included in the provision. This language was intended to prevent the office or showroom portion of a warehouse, industrial or manufacturing building from having to meet energy efficiency code requirements, when the majority of the structure does not.