Council Quickies: Residents Sound Off in Public Forums

Charlotte City Council held an action review, public forum and business meeting on Monday night, hearing an update on the newly improved Strategic Energy Action Plan+ and taking comments from the public on the newly proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget. 

Mayor Vi Lyles began the meeting by addressing a controversy that played out among some Charlotte City Council members over the last week as a result of a settlement that council voted to offer CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings during a recent closed session.

”I wanted to recognize that it’s been a tough week, a lot of words played and said and conversations,” Lyles said. “I think at this point, I would say that this council has an opportunity to really stop and think to do some things that we need to do differently.”

Lyles asked council member Renee Johnson to join her in an effort to address the necessary steps to move past the infighting that has come in the wake of the settlement vote and become a better council.

“[The council can build] what I believe [to be] a real, active council that is working together and pulls together,” Lyles said. “Not necessarily agreeing all the time, but actually understanding each other better.”

For her part, Johnson acknowledged that she has shared in her colleague Dr. Victoria Watlington’s frustration related to how the vote went down, which involved the city attorney implementing a technicality by counting a council member who had left the meeting earlier in the evening as a Yes vote, but was ready to move forward as a council.   

”I look forward to the opportunity and, as I’ve stated, we’ve done enough talking over the last few years and I think we need to do things differently,” Johnson replied. “[Lyles] and I have some healing to do and I look forward to that opportunity and I want to do something different. Dr. Watlington and I have both expressed frustration with the way things have gone … so I think we’ve done enough talking and I look forward to making some changes.”

As with much of the discussion regarding the controversy over the past seven days, the conversation was kept vague and no details were shared as to what changes any of the council members or Lyles would like to see made. 

On the Agenda:

• Action Review: Strategic Energy Action Plan (SEAP+)
• Public Hearings: Municipal Service Districts, Community Area Plans
• Public Hearing: Proposed FY ’26 Budget

Strategic Energy Action Plan Update

Heather Bolick, chief sustainability and resilience officer for the city, reviewed the updated Strategic Energy Action Plan, now called the SEAP+, before it comes in front of council for potential adoption on May 27.

SEAP+ is an update to the 2018 Strategic Energy Action Plan, a roadmap outlining the city’s climate and energy goals, building on the success the plan has seen and making additional progress in the future with “ambitious but realistic goals,” Bolick said.

The plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, transition to clean energy and make Charlotte a low-carbon city. Developed through internal and public support, the plan aims to direct policy in connection with other city initiatives, projects and agencies like Charlotte Water and Solid Waste Services and has been.

In 2024, the city began updating the 2018 SEAP to incorporate the latest science, new citywide plans and reflect the community’s priorities. This year, SEAP+ will have implemented 30 on-site solar systems and secured an off-site 80-megawatt solar project. That project marks 81% completion in the city’s goal to hit carbon zero by 2030.

Bolick pointed out the recent ground-breaking for an all-electric fire house and Charlotte’s first electric fire truck. The city has also been recognized by NAFA Fleet Management Association as the sixth greenest fleet of city vehicles, noting 330 city-owned EC charging stations. 

Extreme heat was rated the highest in public concern in a SEAP+ public survey, as Charlotte has seen a 300% increase in extreme heat days in recent years. Low-income neighborhoods are hit the hardest by extreme heat due to less tree cover, Bolick pointed out. 

In SEAP+, the city updated three of its goals and set one new one, separating the goals into “community-wide” and “municipal.”

The community-wide goals include reducing community-wide greenhouse gas emissions 72% by 2035 and reaching net zero by 2050, plus installing 600 megawatts of distributed energy generation by 2035.

The municipal goals include sourcing 100% of the city’s electricity use in municipal buildings from zero-carbon sources by 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions in municipal buildings by 2050. The city also hopes to reach net-zero emissions in the city’s light-duty fleet by 2035 and its entire fleet by 2050.

SEAP+ focuses on four areas: buildings, energy generation, transportation and cross-cutting along with strategies that don’t fit in the other categories including tree canopy support, climate resilience and waste diversion and reduction.

“When we first adopted the SEAP, that was unanimously adopted back in 2018 when, at the federal level, we had pulled out of [the] Paris Climate Agreement,” council member Dimple Ajmera said. “But we took a bold leadership at the local level to affirm our commitment to carbon-free goals.”

Public Hearings: Municipal Service Districts, Community Area Plans

A number of public hearings were scheduled for Monday night’s meeting, with two Charlotte residents speaking in support of Charlotte Center City Partners’ Uptown Vibrancy initiative during a hearing on Municipal Service Districts.

Presented to council at its April 7 meeting, the initiative is a public/private partnership to enhance safety measures, produce weekly programming, improve perception of Uptown and drive economic vitality. 

To supplement the $2 million in private money, property owners in the Center City Partners municipal service district will see a property tax increase of $0.0082 per $100 value, or $82 annually per $1 million in property value.

“The increase requested is very small, but the incremental effect is transformational,” one speaker said.

The conversation moved to the Charlotte Future 2040 Community Area Plans and Revised Policy Map, which provides guidance on land use, design, transportation and infrastructure. Several community members spoke in opposition, particularly regarding the 14 Community Area Plan’s development recommendations.

Though speakers commended the measures related to reclusivation of land use, reduction of heat island effects, and creation of ten-minute neighborhoods, some feel the plan itself is antithetical.

“Upon review of these reports, I couldn’t help but notice that some of these directives are implemented in ways that almost contradict each other,” said Alexandra Rios, pointing out that the plan suggests using raw land for other commercial or residential purposes, in direct conflict with maintaining natural tree canopies and reducing the heat island effect.

Two representatives of southwest Charlotte neighborhood Steeleberry Acres asked that the council provide protections and guidelines for industrial developments in close proximity to existing neighborhoods following the withdrawal of a controversial petition near the neighborhood earlier this year. 

One resident said that neighbors feel as if homes are regularly being purchased, torn down and rezoned for industrial uses. 

”My home is surrounded on three sides by rezoned lots that are owned by you,” she said to council. “In theory, my neighbor could be a busy logistics center or manufacturing facility that could contain hazardous materials right in Steeleberry [Acres].”

”We are the only neighborhood in Mecklenburg County that are facing these specific issues,” another Steeleberry Acres resident said. “We do not fit into a cookie-cutter plan and need a deeper assessment of what our future looks like.”

“One of the things that stands out to me in the 2040 Plan the most is that it states that residential is encroaching on manufacturing and logistics,” she continued. “But in fact, they are encroaching on us. We were here first.”

Other speakers expressed concerns about how the plans would reshape residential and environmental landscapes and economic mobility.

Council member LaWana Mayfield quickly addressed her own concerns with approving all 14 Community Area Plans at the same time. She mentioned a section of the plan that claims to support neighborhood diversity and continuity while at the same time approving a number of new multifamily annexations in the city. 

“That in itself changes community; it changes neighborhoods,” Mayfield said. “I think we still need to do some work and we need to approve the plans as they are supported by community instead of attempting to approve all 14 plans in one motion based on not just the comments we’ve heard tonight but the comments we’ve heard for years.”

All present council members save for Lyles voiced their agreement with Mayfield’s proposal.

Renee Johnson also pointed out that, when many of the affected communities were developed, there was less than 1% community input. “Rather than direct [the plan] and determine which ones we’re going to delay, perhaps we look at delaying it overall. That would be my recommendation.”

Charlotte Urban Design Center Program Manager Monica Holmes said her team had planned to reintroduce the Community Area Plan to council for approval on May 27 but will amend the date to consider additional meetings and conversations with community and council members.

Meanwhile, there will be an open webinar on Thursday to walk attendees through each area of the plan and participate in breakout rooms to discuss concerns. 

On May 19, Holmes’ team plans to release staff responses and actions on over 500 community comments regarding the Community Area Plans. The online document will address each comment and detail how the issues are being incorporated into the plan.

“We don’t want people to feel like their comments are going into a black hole, we want to have a full loop around that,” Holmes said.

Public Hearing: Proposed Fiscal Year ’26 Budget

About 25 people signed up to address council about the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 operating budget.

Multiple Animal Care and Control (ACC) volunteers thanked council for the proposed allocation of funds toward an adoption center and shelter expansion project as well as the integration of ACC into general services rather than operating under CMPD.

ACC advocates also urged council to adjust the proposal to address the lack of additional positions at the agency and to ensure that the ACC director will report to the general services director.

”The reduced bureaucracy that would accompany this reporting structure would result in more time and energy being funneled toward the care and advocacy of our shelter residents,” an ACC volunteer said.

A few speakers, including a 16-year-old high school student, voiced their support for SEAP+ while others requested the council invest more than the proposed $8 million in cyclist infrastructure after two cyclist deaths in the past month.

Speakers and audience members showed overwhelming support for The People’s Budget Coalition (TPBC), a coalition of local advocacy groups, service providers, faith leaders, community organizations and concerned citizens working toward a “people-first, community-up vision for Charlotte.” 

Read more: People’s Budget Coalition Releases New Recommendations for City Budget

The coalition released its recommendations for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2026 budget in March, focusing on anti-displacement, violence interruption and prevention, respectable wages for city employees and guaranteed air conditioning for all residents.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Climate Leaders co-founder June Blotnick voiced support for TPBC’s recommendation to invest in a $2-million air-conditioning pilot program that would equip landlords with energy efficient AC in 400 apartments, saying the program is a starting point to address climate justice and public health issues.

A survivor of gun violence took the stand to demand the council match the $300,000 investment made to the Mecklenburg County Office of Violence Prevention and increase the Nations Ford corridor’s Alternatives to Violence program.

“Gun violence is overwhelmingly happening in Charlotte, not the surrounding towns, so city support is vital,” they said

Representatives from local organizations like Roof Above, Save Our Children Movement, Sol Nation, The Redress Movement, House for the Invisible, Black Political Caucus, Crisis Assistance Ministry and more showed up in support of The People’s Budget.

Redress Movement senior campaign organizer Greg Jarrell presented council with an additional 1,000 postcards signed by Charlotte residents in support of The People’s Budget and urged council to consider an HVAC mandate for all homes.

“One simple vote can change our mandate for air conditioning,” he said, “And the only thing that will seem unusual about it down the road is why it took until the year 2025 to make that happen.”

Kass Ottley, holding a “$25 per hour minimum wage” sign, said the proposed increase to $24-an-hour minimum wage for city workers is appreciated, but workers have been fighting for a $25 minimum wage for the last three years. 

Firefighter Philip Barbie also spoke on the challenges firefighters are facing, especially with health insurance costs and mandatory overtime pay, saying the proposed budget does not accurately reflect starting salaries and raise rates.

“If we want to be a world-class city, we have to pay the people that keep this city running,” Crisis Assistance Ministry CEO Carol Hardison said.

Lyles thanked the folks who spoke and participated in the conversation to further change.

“We’re not probably going to be able to do everything that’s asked, but we will give it our best try to make sure that it’s in an equitable way,” Lyles said.

Charlotte City Council will gather at 2 p.m. on May 15 to hear from seven candidates who are vying to fill the district council seat left by Tariq Bokhari.