Charlotte, NC Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) (2026)

UDO Article 13 creates four Transit Oriented Development districts, TOD-TR (Transit Transition), TOD-CC (Transit Community Center), TOD-NC (Transit Neighborhood Center) and TOD-UC (Transit Urban Center), that Charlotte City Council maps onto parcels near light rail stations and streetcar stops (Section 13.1). Section 13.1.D.1 reserves TOD-UC for sites closest to high-intensity rapid transit stations: it "will permit the greatest building heights, demand the uppermost level of site and architectural design, permit the least amount of vehicle parking, and require the most urban form of streetscape and public realm." TOD-TR sits at the other end of the scale, used to step higher-intensity TOD development down to adjacent neighborhoods through "modest maximum building heights" and "more relaxed design standards" (Section 13.1.A.1).

Table 13-2 (Section 13.3.C) sets base maximum building height at 50 feet in TOD-TR, 90 feet in TOD-CC, 75 feet in TOD-NC and 130 feet in TOD-UC; each can rise to 75, 130, 100 feet and effectively unlimited height, respectively, through the Article 16.3 development bonus. Minimum building height runs 24 feet in TOD-CC and TOD-NC and 40 feet in TOD-UC, though lots of a half acre or less and buildings under 2,000 square feet of gross floor area are exempt from that floor (Section 13.3.C.1). Table 13-1 (Section 13.3.B) fixes the frontage setback line at 24 feet along an Uptown Signature street in TOD-TR, TOD-CC and TOD-NC, and 20 feet in TOD-UC, with an 80% minimum build-to percentage on a Main Street frontage in TOD-TR and TOD-CC rising to 100% in TOD-NC and TOD-UC. Side and rear setbacks default to zero feet, rising to 10 feet at the side and 20 feet at the rear where the site abuts a Neighborhood 1 Place Type, uniformly across all four districts.