Council Quickies: Street Vendor Regulations Proposed, Budget Approved
Action review & business meeting
Charlotte City Council held an action review and business meeting on Monday night, adopting the Fiscal Year 2026 operating budget after hearing from city staff about potential street vendor regulations that will come in front of council for a vote on June 23.
Charlotte City Council will meet again for its monthly zoning meeting next Monday, June 16.
On the Agenda:
- Action Review: Street Vending in Charlotte
- Fiscal Year 2026 Budget
- Other Business Items
Action Review: Street Vending in Charlotte
The meeting began with an action review presentation on street vending in Charlotte from Charlie Jones of the Charlotte Department of Transportation. Jones mostly reviewed what’s already been said on the topic during previous committee meetings, which we reported on Monday.
Jones explained that city staff has identified four locations within NoDa where the city could launch a street vending pilot program, with street vendors able to sign up for permits to sell goods at the given location(s), which were not specified in the presentation.
Upon launch of that potential six-month pilot program, NoDa would be designated as a Congested Business District.
Read more: City Poised to Enact Regulations on Street Vending in Charlotte
Each permitted vendor would be assigned a specific space that’s been deemed sufficiently out of the right-of-way where they could sell their goods without obstructing foot traffic or parking, and street vending would be prohibited in any other area of the neighborhood.
City staff is recommending raising the maximum fine for illegal street vending from $50 to $500, but LaWana Mayfield said she’d be open to going higher than $500 because that could just be the cost of doing business for a vendor for the day.
Ed Driggs said he believed the street vendors are adding to “an atmosphere of lawlessness” that is creating a sense of unease around the city, comparing the practice to other examples like panhandling and street racing.
Renee Johnson said she’d like to see staff move toward a citywide permitting process because logically any street vendor who doesn’t want to take part in the NoDa pilot program will just move elsewhere.
Johnson and Malcolm Graham emphasized that they want to see the city support the entrepreneurial spirit of folks who are just trying to get by or start their business from scratch while also not allowing the oversaturation to get out of control in spots like NoDa.
“The permitting process has to be affordable and attainable,” said Johnson.
Jones informed Johnson that, as part of the new FY ’26 budget that would be approved later in the night, the permit fee in the Tryon Street Mall area would increase from $165 to $350. It’s likely that the fee will be equal or near the same in NoDa.
“I believe that the public health portion of this is really important,” said Mayor Vi Lyles, referencing the folks who are selling consumables without any licenses or inspections. She suggested that city staff work with the county to include the health department in their work as it relates to food and beverages being sold in the street.
City staff will have language ready for council to vote on for its June 23 meeting involving both the increase in fines and the launch of the new NoDa pilot program so that both new policies can be implemented during council’s summer recess in July.
Fiscal Year 2026 Budget
Leading up to the budget adoption, LaWana Myfield pointed out that there is money allocated to fund the purchase of 45 electric vehicles and 155 hybrid vehicles for city use. She asked that staff not consider buying any of those vehicles from Tesla, as it would go against the city’s inclusive values.
Council unanimously approved the new $3.6-billion budget for Fiscal Year 2026, which has no property tax increase attached.
Highlights of the budget include the continuation of funding for the Alternatives to Violence program along Beatties Ford Road and funding for the expansion of Atrium Health’s hospital-based violence intervention program, Project BOOST.
The budget allocates $30 million over the next four years for a satellite Animal Care and Control adoption facility, moving the agency into General Services rather than keeping it under the purview of CMPD.
The budget leverages more than $1.8 million in funding to support urgent home repair, affordable housing placement and naturally occurring affordable housing. It also contributes funding to 27 nonprofit organizations with a total of $3.8 million.
The budget raises the minimum pay for non-temporary 40-hour-a-week city employees to $24 per hour.
Other Business Items
As part of the consent agenda, council approved a $1.2-million contract with Wilmar, Inc. to provide 53 vehicles of different makes and models to CMPD for use in undercover investigations, mostly by Vice, Narcotics, and Gang units, “allowing the ability to rapidly switch out a vehicle.”
The consent agenda also included a $500,000-per-year contract with Kelso Communications to develop and implement a recruitment campaign for CMPD.
Council unanimously denied a $6-million Housing Trust Fund request to construct Havenridge at Sharon Amity, a 120-unit affordable housing development for seniors proposed on North Sharon Amity Road between Albemarle Road and Independence Boulevard.
Before the vote, district rep Marjorie Molina said the development was “just not a good fit” for its proposed location, citing intense opposition from nearby neighbors in the Coventry Woods neighborhood.
Council voted to keep interim city attorney Anthony Fox on for a bit longer than expected as they extend/slow their search for a new permanent replacement. Staff hopes to have that position filled by mid-October.
