UDO Residential Reviews – Individual Residential Lot Projects

Per the City of Charlotte’s UDO, effective June 1, 2023, all projects must comply with drainage and urban forestry requirements, including individual residential lot projects. City of Charlotte Storm Water Services and Urban Forestry staff will review residential projects once applications are submitted into the City’s Accela permit system.  These can be submitted and reviewed prior to or concurrently with Mecklenburg County Land Use and Environmental Services Agency (LUESA) Residential Plan reviews. 

Will this delay my residential review at the County? No – nothing changes with residential project submittals to Mecklenburg County for building codes and building permits.  The new requirement is that starting June 1st, all residential projects listed below require a separate submittal to the City of Charlotte Accela Citizen Access, including a nominal review fee. 

Examples of residential projects now requiring City Storm Water and Urban Forestry review:

  • Construction of a new Single-Family Home
  • Construction of a new Duplex
  • Additions to existing residential buildings, or renovations that expand the footprint
  • Detached garages
  • Backyard storage buildings
  • Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
  • Retaining walls on residential lots
  • Pools
  • Installation, modification, creation, or connection to the existing City storm drainage system
  • Installation of storm drainage systems that convey runoff from a publicly-maintained street

HELPFUL LINKS

Accela Citizen Access

Meck County Web Permit Dashboard

CLT Development Center

CONTACT US

CLT Development Center
600 E. 4th Street, Charlotte, NC 28202
UDOresidential@charlottenc.gov
(704)-336-6692

Urban Forestry Review

Non-Development Heritage Tree Permit:

Removing heritage trees not related to building a home

Non-Development Heritage Tree Checklist

Residential Single-Lot Tree Preservation (Tier 1):

Building a single-family home or duplex, and there is not existing tree save, heritage trees or right-of-way trees

Tier 1 Checklist

Residential Single-Lot Tree Preservation (Tier 2):

Building a single-family home or duplex, and there is existing tree save, heritage trees or right-of-way trees

Tier 2 Checklist

Typical UF Review items:

Check for the protection of existing ROW Trees
Review for proposed new street trees based on 40’ spacing
Evaluate for compliance with existing tree save
Evaluate for protection and/or mitigation for Heritage Trees

Stormwater Review

TIER 1:

Minimal or no impact to existing drainage patterns or drainage infrastructure

Tier 1 Checklist

TIER 2:

New storm drainage infrastructure or other impacts to existing drainage or drainage infrastructure.

Tier 2 Checklist

TIER 3:

Flood Study required (Q100>50cfs) and/or UDO Article 23 (Water Supply Watershed Protection) and/or UDO Article 25 (Post-Construction Stormwater Regulations) compliance is required.

Tier 3 Checklist

Typical Storm Water Review items:

Review any installation, modification, creation or connection to the storm drainage system
Review proposed land disturbance that will modify or impact existing drainage features (catch basins, pipes, ditches, swales, etc.)
Check for modifications being made to the City storm drainage system meet standards (size, material, and methods)
Prevent building structures or retaining walls from being constructed within City or public storm easements
Ensure projects use standard residential driveways and eliminate driveway conflicts with existing catch basins
Identify and protect ex. and prop. building structures subject to flooding, and avoid adjacent property flooding
Review development in areas with known drainage issues

Process:

Click here for Step-by-step instructions on how to get started filing an Accela application.

  1. Customer needs to apply and submit supporting information for projects into the City of Charlotte’s online permit system, Accela Citizen Access. 
  2. Storm Water, UF, and Erosion Control (as applicable for sites with 1 acre or more land disturbance) will review concurrently in Accela, and issue approval. 
  3. The review timeframe for residential projects will be 3 business day maximum for gateway and 7 business day maximum for review and if needed, 7 business days for subsequent reviews.
  4. Once plans are approved by the City, City staff will release the Engineering and Urban Forestry permit holds on the Residential Review project in Mecklenburg County’s Winchester system. 

Review Fees:

Required review fees must be paid prior to detailed review of the proposed project. The fees may vary, from $40 to $345 per agency, depending on the review tier.