CHARLOTTE — A group of historically Black neighborhoods in Charlotte is filing lawsuits and organizing against new multi-family rental developments in their communities.
The effort includes residents in the Hidden Valley neighborhood in northeast Charlotte, who are taking legal action against developers, accusing them of violating deed restrictions.
The legal push follows the Charlotte City Council’s passage of its Unified Development Ordinance in 2023.
Designed to increase overall housing construction, the ordinance permits duplexes and triplexes in single-family neighborhoods that are not governed by covenants or homeowner associations.
Community leaders in Hidden Valley, a neighborhood in northeast Charlotte, say they have worked for years to improve safety and stability for local homeowners.
The Hidden Valley Neighborhood Association recently held a meeting with residents to discuss opposition strategies against multi-family rental developments.
Marjorie Parker serves as the president of the Hidden Valley Neighborhood Association. Parker stated that developers are disregarding long-standing community rules. “They used to respect that, now they don’t respect the deed restrictions,” Parker said.
She outlined plans to address the issue directly with local government leaders. “Were going to have to fight the UDO we have to go to the top and go to the city, city manager, City Council and start there because tri-plexes and quad-plexes don’t belong on any lot,” Parker said.
Bobby Drakeford represents the Black Neighborhood Coalition, an organization backing Hidden Valley in its effort to challenge developers and city policy.
Drakeford criticized the structural impact of placing triplexes directly adjacent to single-family homes. “It blocks your view, it dosen’t look right there are issues with engress and egress,” Drakeford said.
He stated that preserving community identity remains the primary objective. “The core message is we want to retain character of our neighborhoods,” Drakeford said.
Concerns regarding multi-family conversions extend to other area communities, including Westerly Hills. Dorothy Woods, a Westerly Hills resident, lives near triplexes that operate as rental properties and short-term rentals.
Woods reported experiencing ongoing property disputes with temporary tenants. “You have rental people that i’m arguing with about parking on my lot on the grass, trying to accomidate their friends who they are bringing to these Airb&b’s,” Woods said.
The coalition plans to proceed with legal action against a triplex developer over alleged deed restriction violations after reporting that city officials would not intervene. The developer has not responded to requests for comment.
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