Implementation Strategy

The policies, programs, and projects identified in the plan are going to increase the need for place management organizations to support with the implementation of the community’s vision. Examination of successful places nationally has identified that high-quality places (i.e. employment areas and community gathering places) within communities typically rely on partner organizations to provide and maintain them.

The City should create a place management program and hierarchy that aligns with Future Place Type designations. Funding and technical resources should be provided to support the formation and initial operation of new place management organizations.

Regional Activity Centers

Regional Activity Centers are the location of major destinations for Charlotte including cultural, historic, civic, entertainment, education, health, and economic assets. To facilitate the continued health and growth of these regional activity centers, investment and stewardship is needed to support these areas. Major cities and communities throughout the US and the world have utilized urban place management organizations to help steward there important places. An urban place management organization is typically a non-profit entity that brings together the public and private sector to jointly invest and support districts and areas. The organizations manage improvements and investments in the districts they cover. The organization allows the private property and business owners (and even residents) invest in the curation and management of their community. They also create a partner with the public sector to guide infrastructure investment, policy creation, and management of urban services.

Roles/Responsibilities

These place management organizations are traditionally found in downtown type areas. Charlotte utilizes a mechanism known as Municipal Service Districts (MSDs) to help support the management of major regional activity centers including Uptown, South End, and University City. These MSDs raise ad-valorem tax to fund and maintain improvements and provide promotion/marketing for these areas. In many communities, these improvement districts are coupled with non-profit membership organizations (e.g. Charlotte Center City Partners) that provide a wide variety of services. The function and use of MSDs in Charlotte function much like other improvement districts and organizations nationally, but don’t provide an enhanced level of services (e.g. area cleanliness services or enhanced security and safety services) that other organizations provide. However, the function and purpose of these organizations can be simple in structure and mission. Typical responsibilities of urban place management districts include the following:

• Enhanced public safety and patrolling
• Enhanced cleanliness and maintenance of public spaces
• Public financing and capital investments mechanisms
• Policy, infrastructure and amenity planning
• Public space management and activation
• Marketing, branding and events
• Mobility and transportation demand management
• Community outreach, engagement, and advocacy
• Economic development
• Area leadership and management

Contexts

For each regional activity center, an organization(s) should exist to create a public/private partnership for the stewardship of the area. Each organization and regional activity center should have defined roles and responsibilities.

Management Organizations Sequence

These districts often evolve over time. The organization options can be formed in a variety of ways and can grow to increase the scope of their services and purpose. Organizations do not need to start from the beginning or continue on to a greater scope of purpose. The essential element is the willingness of private entities to collaboratively create an entity to support their geographic area. The public participation within the organization can vary and is typically greater when dedicated funding streams are included. However, public participation is typically an important element.

Organization Types

The following are types of organizations most often found in these regionally significant areas.

Membership Organization – An organization of area stakeholders (business owners, property owners, HOA’s, etc.) convened to discuss area issues. Typically are funded through membership fees and have limited ability fund or maintain major projects.

• Example: Economic Development Partnership
• Typical Primary Roles
• Policy, infrastructure and amenity planning
• Marketing, branding and events
• Community outreach, engagement, and advocacy
• Improvement District – An entity formed to funding and/or managing capital investments and public spaces for a specific area or district. These districts are typically funded through a dedicated revenue stream that is most often a public financing tax or fee charged on property and business owners in the district.
• Example: Municipal Service Districts
• Typical Primary Roles
• Public safety (not provided by MSDs currently)
• Cleanliness and maintenance of public spaces (not provided by MSDs currently)
• Public financing and capital investments mechanisms
• Policy, infrastructure and amenity planning
• Public space management and activation
• Special Purpose Organizations – Entity formed to address one or two specific issues/tasks needed for a specific geographic area. Funding can vary but typical is from a dedicated revenue source or through membership/private funding.
• Example: Transportation Management Association (TMA)
• Typical Primary Roles dependent on agency mission. Typical examples include:
• Marketing, branding and events
• Mobility and transportation demand management
• Community outreach, engagement, and advocacy
• Economic development

Organization Potential Funding Strategies/Tools

• Membership fees
• Dedicated property tax
• Dedicated sales tax
• Dedicated lodging tax
• Assessment fees
• Retail Sales fees
• Ticket fee/tax
• Charge for services, facility use fees, program revenue
• Grants funding
• Donations

Neighborhood/Small Area/Specific Purpose Districts

For mixed use corridors, community and neighborhood activity centers, and even neighborhoods, an organization can support the growth of specific areas or specific mission needed through a public/private partnership or through a non-profit entity that acts as a steward for the area. Each organization should have defined roles and responsibilities that are needed beyond existing services. Significant property/business owner or community support and participation are needed to make an organization viable.

Management Organizations Sequence

These districts often evolve over time. The organization options can be formed in a variety ways and can grow to increase the scope of their services and purpose. Organizations do not need to start from the beginning or continue on to a greater scope of purpose. The essential element is the willingness of private entities to collaboratively create an entity to support their geographic area. The public participation within the organization can vary and is typically greater when dedicated funding streams are included. However, public participation is typically a required element and formation should be driven by the community and not by the City.

Organization Types

The following are types of organizations used for place management at this scale.

Membership Organization – A loose organization of area stakeholders (business owners, property owners, or residents) convened to discuss area issues. Typically are funded through membership fees and have limited ability fund or maintain major projects.

• Example: Business Merchants Association
• Typical Primary Roles
• Marketing, branding and events
• Community outreach, engagement, and advocacy
• Improvement District – Entity formed for funding and/or managing capital investments and public spaces for a specific area or district. Typically funded through a dedicated revenue stream that is most often a public financing tax or fee charged on property and business owners in the district or neighborhood.
• Example: Business Improvement District
• Typical Primary Roles:
• Marketing, branding and events
• Community outreach, engagement, and advocacy
• Cleanliness and maintenance of public spaces and infrastructure
• Public space management and activation
• Policy, infrastructure and amenity planning
• Special Purpose Organizations – Entity formed to address one or two specific issues/tasks needed for a specific geographic area. Funding can vary but typical is from a dedicated revenue source or through membership/private funding.
• Example: Community Development Corporation, Naturally Occurring Cultural District (NOCD), Arts Collective/District
• Typical Primary Roles dependent on agency mission. Typical examples include:
• Marketing, branding and events
• Community services coordination
• Community outreach, engagement, and advocacy
• Economic development

Potential Funding Strategies/Tools

• Membership fees
• Dedicated property tax
• Dedicated sales tax
• Assessment fees
• Retail Sales fees
• Charge for services, facility use fees, program revenue
• Grants funding
• Donations

The level of community engagement and cross-department and agency coordination that has occurred in the development of the Charlotte Future 2040 Comprehensive Plan can provide a strong foundation for ongoing collaboration for aligning implementation efforts, leveraging available resources, ensuring maximum collective impact, and holding each other accountable. The composition of an Implementation Committee should include community representatives and a representatives of all departments, agencies and organizations that participated in crafting the plan. The Implementation Committee should meet at least quarterly, contribute to an annual reporting of implementation progress and evaluation metrics, and participate in an updated Implementation Strategy at least every five years. Additional roles of the Implementation Committee may include:

• Contributing to the finalization of Policy Objective Metrics
• Collecting and sharing of Equity and Policy Objective Metrics
• Sharing of process and content updates related to Strategic Plans, Functional/Action Plans, Community Area Plans, and Specific Plans
• Reviewing and providing feedback on Future Place Type mapping
• Participating in Community Area Planning
• Coordinating existing and new programs recommended in the Comprehensive Plan or targeted at achieving a Plan goal and objectives
• Identifying and/or discussing potential Plan or Implementation Strategy amendments

In order to implement the recommended approach to Future Place Type Mapping and Community Area Planning, the City should review existing staffing and assignments to ensure that those priority items and other aspects of the four level planning program can be implemented.

Based upon similar programs in several of Charlotte’s peer communities, there are typically teams established for each Community Area and/or Future Place Type Mapping geography. The planning staff on each team typically focuses on one area at a time for Community Area Planning and up to three areas for mapping. The portion of an individual’s time required depends on experience, the Community Plan Area, and whether consultants are engaged to assist with one or more portions of the effort. Teams generally include two to three planning staff members, as well as staff from other departments and agencies for coordination on mobility, parking, parks and open space, utilities, resiliency, etc. Planning team members from other departments can typically engage in several Community Area Plans at one time. Thus, the number of planning staff is usually the limiting factor in the number of plans that can be in development at once and the length of time required to complete all Community Area Plans. The considerations identified here should be used to establish a specific Planning Program to better understand staffing needs or adjustments, funding requirements and estimated timelines.