The City of Charlotte’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) is a set of regulations designed to guide our city’s future development.

Importantly, the UDO will guide growth to bring to life the vision of the Charlotte Future 2040 Comprehensive Plan policies. The UDO also builds from other City policies, including the Charlotte Moves: Strategic Mobility Plan, the Charlotte Streets Map, the Strategic Energy Action Plan, and the Tree Canopy Action Plan.

Above all, we have undertaken this multi-year effort to more effectively manage today’s growth and better plan for the future.

Use the links below to explore what the UDO means for:

what is the Charlotte UDO?

The UDO combines regulations and standards from eight (8) different development ordinances into a single comprehensive document. 

The UDO updates regulations and standards previously found in the City’s Zoning Ordinance, Subdivision Ordinance, Tree Ordinance, Chapter 19 (Streets and Sidewalks), Floodplain Regulations, Soil Erosion & Sedimentation Control Regulations, Post-Construction Stormwater Regulations, and Driveway/Access Standards.

Take a look! Use the slider to see how the UDO will use more images and tables to make our regulations easier to understand.

Have more questions about the UDO? Visit the pages linked below to dive deeper.

UDO Team

Development of the UDO was led by the City of Charlotte Planning, Design & Development Department. Charlotte’s UDO team continues to work with the consulting firm Camiros, Ltd, a planning and design firm based in Chicago. Camiros has crafted zoning and development ordinances for cities, counties, and towns across the United States, including Baltimore, Buffalo, Providence, New Orleans, and Clark County, NV.

The law firm of Parker Poe provided the legal review of the UDO language and standards for compatibility and compliance with local, state, and federal laws.