Sustainable Land Development Today - March 2008 - (Page 25) To deal with these problems, the developers brought in the Charlotte offices of the Kennedy Covington law firm to advise and to assist in negotiations with the community and the city, and to shepherd the project through rezoning. In the end, each problem found a solution. The development team proposed creating a large natural buffer along the western edge of the site, adjacent to the neighborhoods. The grove of oak trees would become part of the buffer. Next, the group proposed a stormwater retention pond near the wetlands. Together, the pond and the wetlands would form the heart of a park capable of providing not only a visual focus for the park, but also the requested buffer between the neighborhood and the development. It took longer than anticipated, but the neighborhood ultimately endorsed the new proposals and the development. With community and city planning staff endorsement in hand, rezoning to add The facades of residential and retail buildings along Piedmont Row are articulated to read as a series of individual buildings, concealing the project’s large parking structures. residential and retail to the existing office zoning followed quickly. The Complication Called MUDDO In Charlotte — and in many other cities — going beyond the specifications of particular zoning ordinances requires developers to apply for an optional zoning allowance. In Charlotte, optional zoning related to mixed use is called MUDDO or Mixed-Use Development District — Optional. Receiving an optional designation is not difficult. The hard part involves what comes with MUDDO. MUDDO typically allows for development beyond what existing zoning permits. As a trade-off, local jurisdictions must approve designs as they progress, add infrastructure improvements as they deem necessary, and generally wield greater control over internal design elements of the project. In this case, the City’s Department of Transportation (DOT) would review and approve the design of the parking decks. Various environmental impacts that the project would create also led DOT to require considerable road improvements in areas off the site. One of these required the addition of a signalized intersection allowing access to the site. The traffic signal represented a significant addition to the safety of Circle 126 • or www.SLDTonline.com/webcard www.SLDTonline.com 25 Photo Credit: Gerin Choiniere Photography http://freshcreek.com http://www.SLDTonline.com/webcard http://www.SLDTonline.com
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