Charlotte City Council
People
- Rob Harrington, Mayor
- James Mitchell Jr., Mayor Pro Tem; Council Member, At-Large
- Dimple Ajmera, Council Member, At-Large
- Danté Anderson, Council Member, District 1
- JD Mazuera Arias, Council Member, District 5
- Ed Driggs, Council Member, District 7
- Malcolm Graham, Council Member, District 2
- Reneé Johnson, Council Member, District 4
- LaWana Mayfield, Council Member, At-Large
- Joi Mayo, Council Member, District 3
- Kimberly Owens, Council Member, District 6
- Victoria Watlington, Council Member, At-Large
Coverage (20 articles)
Council Gets First Public Look at CLT's Airline Lease
Charlotte City Council gets its first public presentation Monday on the airport's proposed new lease with five airlines. Its cost, its length and what the airlines would pay have not been made public.
What Charlotte Got in Writing on I-77
The 12-page agreement behind the I-77 South toll lanes commits at least $300 million to west Charlotte and makes the private developer responsible for putting it up. The neighborhoods it is meant for have no power to enforce it. Only the city can hold the state to it.
The Enslaved Believed Buried Outside Sugaw Creek's Cemetery Fence
Charlotte made the two Sugaw Creek Presbyterian Church cemeteries historic landmarks Monday. Researchers told council that more than 500 enslaved people are believed buried just outside them in unmarked graves, and asked that those graves be protected too.
Charlotte's Housing Bond Plan Now Says Where Homes Should Go
Before voters decide on a $125 million housing bond in November, city staff laid out how the money would be split, with new goals for homes near transit and in higher-opportunity neighborhoods. Council plans to adopt the plan in October.
Charlotte's Annexation Test Never Asks About Affordable Housing
Council voted on four annexations Monday under a policy adopted in 2003. Staff said the city has never used annexation to ask for affordable housing, and its lawyers have warned that doing so could be a legal risk.
First Union Tower Wins Landmark Status and a Tax Break, 10-1
Charlotte made the vacant office tower at 301 S. Tryon a historic landmark, which lets its owners defer half the property tax on the designated portion while they convert it to homes and a hotel. The plan includes no affordable units.
Charlotte Approves 10 p.m. Curfew Pilot for Minors, 9-2
Starting Nov. 1, Charlotte residents under 18 must be off the streets by 10 p.m., with exceptions, under a pilot that runs through August 2027. The police chief promised no traffic stops on curfew suspicion alone, a policy CMPD has not yet written.
Charlotte's I-77 Bill Is $69,577,547.67
The state's claim against Charlotte for walking away from the I-77 South toll lanes is $69,577,547.67, and the money would come out of the fund the city has already programmed for its next affordable housing and public facilities bonds. Council votes Monday on whether to reinstate support, which would erase the bill. The city's own two figures for Charlotte's share have not been reconciled on the record.
Five Weeks Out, Charlotte Hasn't Moved on I-77, and Board Members Are Disputing the $60 Million
At its last meeting before the September 23 reinstatement vote, CRTPO heard that Charlotte's position on the I-77 South toll lanes is unchanged, that the alternatives analysis cannot finish in time, and that the $60 million repayment figure is disputed by the county's account of NCDOT's own spending.
Charlotte Council Debates What a Youth Curfew Pilot Would Test
Council approved neither a new curfew nor a pilot Monday. Charlotte's police chief asked to explore a test of the 9 p.m. rule, while members proposed different measures, limits, and timelines.
The Hendrick Rezoning Met Every Consent-Agenda Test. A Question About Its Buffer Sent It Back.
Petition 2026-019 cleared all four criteria that put a Charlotte rezoning on the consent agenda, where petitions pass together without discussion. It came off the list anyway. What stopped it was whether the 100-foot buffer everyone already agreed to has to be left undisturbed, a question the plan notes do not answer.
Charlotte Read DOJ’s Model Cities Fine Print. Some of It Comes Later.
Charlotte has until September 1 to seek a share of nearly $300 million through DOJ’s Model Cities Initiative. Applying requires local signatures, federal collaboration and an immigration certification before certain award terms are available.
Charlotte's Safety Committee Advances a 9 p.m. Curfew for Everyone Under 18
The City Council's Safety Committee voted unanimously to send the full council a single 9 p.m. curfew for everyone under 18, replacing the current age-tiered rules. The change still needs a full-council vote, expected in August. The members who advanced it spent the meeting warning that a curfew alone won't fix what draws teens into the streets.
Charlotte City Council Names Robert Harrington, Its Next Mayor
After a runoff decided by a single vote, the City Council chose Robert Harrington, a Robinson Bradshaw attorney who has never held elected office, as Charlotte's next mayor. He beat civic leader Carrie Cook 6 to 5 and will succeed Vi Lyles on July 1.
The Five Finalists for Charlotte Mayor, in Their Own Words
The council interviewed five finalists for interim mayor on June 18 and set the appointment vote for Monday. Here is how each got on the ballot, what they told council about running meetings, the I-77 tolls, and the airport, and how the June 22 vote will work.
Hendrick Motorsports Wants to Build on Residential Land. Charlotte's Planners Say It Breaks the Plan, and Recommend Approving It Anyway.
Hendrick Motorsports has petitioned to rezone 22.89 acres at the Mecklenburg-Cabarrus line from residential to industrial to expand its race-shop campus. City staff say the request is out of alignment with Charlotte's own area plan but recommend approval on jobs grounds. The petitioner added conditions, including excluding data centers, and the council closed the hearing without a vote.
A Member of the Council Will Help Pick the Next Mayor. He Is Also Running for the Job.
Mayor Pro Tem James Mitchell Jr. applied for the interim mayor seat the council will fill, and he can vote for himself. Council members raised a conflict; the city attorney ruled there is no legal basis for recusal, citing the Patsy Kinsey precedent. The question of whether Mitchell should be excused was left unresolved.
Charlotte's Next Mayor Won't Be Elected. More Than 100 People Applied for the Job Anyway.
More than 100 people applied to be Charlotte's next mayor, and about 30 made their case in person at a June 15 council forum. The next mayor will be appointed, not elected, by 11 council members, with a vote targeted for June 22.
Charlotte City Council votes unanimously for 150-day data center moratorium
Charlotte's city council voted unanimously Monday to pause all new data center and telecommunications facility approvals for 150 days, giving staff time to develop regulations the council says current city policy cannot provide.
Manor Theater Redevelopment Approved
Charlotte City Council on Monday unanimously approved a partial rezoning of the Manor Theater site on Providence Road, clearing the way for SLRH Acquisitions to redevelop the long-closed Eastover landmark into 120 to 130 residential units and roughly 35,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. Three council members, Kimberly Owens, Danté Anderson, and J.D. Mazuera Arias, walked the room through their first memories of the building before the vote.
Other coverage in the Mercury Local network
The page still listed the former mayor
We Built Our Own, No. 19. If somebody has to remember to update a page, it's going to go stale. So we stopped typing the page.
The Clarks Inherited the McNinch House, and Its Restaurant
Mitchell and D.D. Clark inherited the Liddell-McNinch House on North Church Street, and the restaurant inside it. At City Council this week, they described what it takes to keep it going, from thin margins to 78 windows.
McNinch House Landmark Status Now Covers the Whole Property
The Liddell-McNinch House has been a Charlotte landmark since 1976. On Sept. 28, City Council voted to extend the designation to the whole property, opening a property tax deferral the owners told council will go back into the house.
A 9 P.M. Youth Curfew, a Traffic Referral and $425 Million: What Ballantyne Should Know
Charlotte Council did not vote on the curfew. It sent cumulative traffic impacts toward committee, while a $425 million bond package moved closer to the November ballot.
Charlotte Proposed a 9 P.M. Youth Curfew. It Stops at the City Limits.
Charlotte’s proposed ordinance would not govern homes outside the city. Firethorne crosses more than one jurisdiction, so the address matters. The traffic still travels south.
Charlotte Debated a 9 P.M. Curfew. The Liddell-McNinch House Is Back on the Calendar.
Council took no vote on the youth curfew. The transcript also records a Sept. 28 hearing for the Liddell-McNinch House, which Charlotte designated historic property 50 years ago.
Charlotte Council Passed Both of Its I-77 Votes
Charlotte City Council passed a non-binding resolution on I-77 South Monday night, then voted 6 to 5 to rescind its support for the toll-lane partnership. For uptown readers, the council did more than register an opinion.
Lyles Is Stepping Down. Here's What That Means for South Charlotte.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles will resign June 30. The Charlotte Mercury has the full appointment-process story; this is the south-Charlotte read, five decisions the next mayor inherits that touch this corner of the city directly, from Driggs as the working chair to the November 2026 transportation-and-housing bond.