Charlotte's New Neighborhood Character Overlay
NCO: Neighborhood Character Overlay
“The NCO or Neighborhood Character Overlay establishes regulations to preserve the existing character of a neighborhood and enhance its unique natural and architectural resources, while helping to foster compatible development within neighborhoods.” - Charlotte UDO
The intended purpose of this overlay is to encourage development and redevelopment that is consistent with a neighborhood’s character as well as create a transition between locally designated historic districts and residential areas.
Neighborhood Character Overlay Process
● NCO District Applicability: An NCO District can only be applied to specific zoning districts, namely N1-A, N1-B, N1-C, N1-D, or N1-E.
● Limitations on Modifications: An NCO District cannot modify any standards outlined in existing declarations of covenants and restrictions.
● Application of Neighborhood Character Plan: Once an NCO District is established, the standards outlined in the Neighborhood Character Plan apply to single-family, duplex, and triplex dwellings within the NCO District. These standards take precedence over the underlying zoning district's regulations.
● Compliance with Neighborhood Character Plan: All new construction, additions, changes, expansions, and alterations to existing single-family, duplex, and triplex dwellings within the NCO District must adhere to the standards specified in the adopted Neighborhood Character Plan.
● Incompatibility with Other Overlays: An NCO Neighborhood Character Overlay cannot be applied in conjunction with the following overlays: HDO (Historic District Overlay), HDO-S (Streetside Historic District Overlay), and RIO (Residential Infill Overlay).
Neighborhood Eligibility
Cohesive and Distinctive Setting: A majority of properties in an NCO District must share one or more criteria that contribute to a cohesive and distinctive setting, character, or association. These criteria include consistency in scale, proportion, and rhythm (e.g., lot width, building height, front façade width), similarity in streetscape characteristics or tree canopy, and similarity in the arrangement of on-site elements such as parking and accessory structures.
Additional Standards: In addition to meeting the criteria mentioned above, an NCO District must fulfill the following standards:
Minimum Area: The designated area for the NCO District should be at least 15 contiguous acres.
Blockface Inclusion: If a lot is included in an NCO District, all lots on the same blockface must also be included.
Established Development Pattern: The general pattern of development, including streets, lots, and buildings within the proposed overlay district, should have been established at least 25 years prior to the consideration of the NCO District designation.
Minimum Lot Development: At least 75% of the lots within the proposed NCO District must be developed.
How To Apply
A request to initiate neighborhood character plan process may be done in one of the following ways:
By a petition provided to the Planning Department signed by property owner(s) representing at least 25% of the land area and at least 25% of the lots within the proposed district.
The City Council can initiate the process at a council meeting by majority vote.
For further details on the process for the determination of eligibility read pages 14-10 and 14-11 of the
UDO 14.3 NCO NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER OVERLAY
Article written by Audrey Smith
Real Estate Advocacy Services
CLT Public Relations provides Real Estate Advocacy Services, in the Charlotte Region, for those needing assistance with real estate procedures and processes at the local municipal government level.