COMMUNITY INVESTMENT PLAN

Our Citys Approach to Investing in Community

The Community Investment Plan (CIP) is a program to provide transformative community investments. It is a holistic approach to community investment that leverages public infrastructure and private investments, sustains Charlottes assets, addresses a broad array of existing community needs and creates the next Charlotte.

Community Investment Plan Storyline-Draft 12/19

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Community Investment Plan-Draft 12/19

Evolution of CIP
Historically, the CIP has stood for Capital Investment Plan, a long-range plan to maintain the growth and economic vitality of the community. It includes some of the Citys highest priority capital needs over a five-year period and encompasses investments in roads, neighborhoods, diversity housing, storm water projects, transit, water sewer projects, the airport and government facilities. (From Carolina PR-A New Way section) For more than four years, City staff has been studying the best practices of other progressive cities along with meeting with community partners to create an innovative and creative approach that leverage limited resources into projects that can truly transform our neighborhoods. The projects identified are expected to yield proven results within our own local economy and begin to meet a broader range of community needs. Rebranded, the Community Investment Plan, this adjustment signifies a new philosophy and the desire to emphasize that the CIP is bigger than any single project; its about a collection of projects that together strengthen the entire Charlotte Community. It also reflects the importance of engaging our partners (public and private) to leverage the most from City investments and the expanded scope of the investment types necessary to keep Charlotte growing.

CIP Goals
The overall goal of this program is to improve the quality of life in Charlotte by:

Creating jobs and growing the tax base

Leveraging public and private investments

Enhancing public safety

Enhancing transportation choices

Ensuring housing diversity

Providing integrated neighborhood improvements

Overall Impact
Based on a demand market impact analysis by a third-party consultant, the CIP would generate $2.2 billion in estimated total real estate market value and supports an estimated 18,498 permanent jobs over the next 20 years. The CIP also creates social, economic, transportation and environmental benefits for the City and its citizens. A

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Community Investment Plan Storyline-Draft 12/19

successful CIP will strengthen the competitiveness of Charlotte regionally, nationally and globally!

Key Benefits
Across Charlotte, there are many social, economic, transportation/infrastructure and environmental benefits to Citys approach to the CIP.

Social

Increases entrepreneurial and employment opportunities for area residents Improves livability and desirability of the area A community focus and strengthens community fabric through higher density residential and commercial development Improves neighborhood amenities and shopping Provides easier access to existing commercial and new multi-family mixed use developments in the area Increases market visibility and access for commercial developments Leverages new market conditions for attracting global and national scale business Creates significant new jobs within the City, and strengthens the City tax base Increases market access to existing commercial and planned developments Adds an amenity that strengthens market conditions and increases real estate values Provides a new transportation, pedestrian/bicycle corridor across the city that fosters a car-light lifestyle and helps minimize vehicle miles of travel Synergies with investments in the Airport Intermodal Facility and investments in private developments Improves traffic flows in the area to the west of the airport Builds upon connection with the Northeast portion of the Cross Charlotte Trail Creates potential to create sustainable development in entire area along river Creates a new green corridor across the City Provides for stream restoration Reduces emissions due to congestion

Economic

Transportation/Infrastructure

Environmental

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Community Investment Plan-Draft 12/19

Imagine-Plan-Become
Creating the Next Charlotte
Theme (from Carolina PR): Building a strong community in Charlotte is a journey. There is no destination in a traditional sense, other than the completion of specific projects and other milestones that are part of the CIP. There will not be a time when we can say: Our work is finished; rather, the City continuously strives toward the ideal of community. The process itself, especially how many go on the journey, will be a key indicator of success. With staff guidance, citizens will decide where they want to go on the journey, and how. The storyline should establish these precepts and help each citizen understand and embrace their integral role in the process. Approach (from Carolina PR, updated to reflect internal audience): The new CIP represents true community engagement, where residents take their rightful "seat at the table" alongside staff and elected officials in making the decisions that profoundly shape the City's future. City staff and elected officials must embrace the ideas of the community and encourage their engagement every step of the way. To successfully achieve this, it will require a commitment to understanding the CIP as a whole and a vested interest in upholding the goals of the program. Citizens need to feel that collectively, this is our City and the there is a shared vision for creating the next Charlotte. This idea is relevant not only for the CIP program, but also how the City interacts with constituents in general. The CIP is emblematic of what Charlotte does best and wants to be known for forward thinking, a dynamic can do spirit, unity of purpose, innovative partnerships, and a great place to live and work.

Message Pillars (Carolina PR)

Aspiration
Envisions the community that the City can and should be

Collaboration
Requires full participation of individual citizens and non-municipal interests in planning, setting priorities and implementation

Vitality
Instigates targeted and broad-based economic growth

Common Good
Encourages altruism and public spirit, where the primary interest is the City as a whole, and everyone looks out for their neighbors no matter where they live

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Community Investment Plan Storyline-Draft 12/19

Guiding Principles (Carolina PR): The new CIP process is founded on four guiding principles: aspiration, collaboration, vitality and the common good. It aims at long-range planning that manages growth and delivers economic vitality throughout the City. It seeks to synchronize neighborhood and community needs with projects that provide the biggest bang for the City's buck by acting as catalysts for transformative change. It welcomes collaborative partnerships with various government entities, the private sector, non-profits and others to invest in neighborhoods, corridors and business centers. The idea is both to serve the community we have and to build the community we want. This collaborative approach will yield tangible achievements we can all agree on: creating jobs, growing the tax base and leveraging public and private investment. It will also enhance public safety, provide better transportation choices, ensure housing diversity and provide comprehensive neighborhood improvements. We can create the Charlotte we envision.

A New Way (Carolina PR)

In these days of rapid social and economic change, Charlotte needs the ideas and voices of many residents with diverse viewpoints and interests. If we are to be a vibrant City where people want to live, work and enjoy life, we must broaden our perspective of what people want and need. From an internal perspective: This new approach will provide us with the opportunity for enhanced planning, more effective deployment of public resources, and greater transparency and accessibility in our government. By learning from each other, we can better understand which projects are most important for the community as a whole--not just for one section of town. Internally, we must shift our mindsets to increased collaboration with the community and become champions of what our community could be if we work together. A major factor in our success will be how we, as representatives of the City, fully embrace this process. We must acknowledge the benefits of the CIP, not just from a City perspective but from a community perspective as if each project was in our neighborhood. From community perspective With the new CIP, the community is invited to be a vital part of the planning process. You could think of it as preparation for a journey, where everyone gets together--not to be given a map, but to talk about where we want to go and how we want to get there. Together we can consider options, set priorities, and achieve dramatic change, creating the City we want Charlotte to be. This is your opportunity to help shape Charlotte and be connected with the neighborhood you live in and also with communities across the entire City. We won't just be building projects. We'll be building a united community that thrives because residents understand that the success of the parts determines the success of the whole.

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Community Investment Plan-Draft 12/19

How It Works (Carolina PR)

Internally Imagining As part of a CIP team, you'll meet with other interested residents to share your hopes and dreams about what kind of place you want Charlotte to be. Planning With these dreams in mind, you'll help set priorities and design infrastructure projects that align with your group's vision.

IMAGINE

PLAN

Becoming You'll share in the progress of projects your group is involved in, making sure the final product meets your shared goals. As infrastructure projects are completed, you'll apply the same steps BECOME to additional projects, setting priorities and shaping projects to be congruent with your group's vision for the community.

Community (New) Imagining You, along with other members of the Charlotte community, will be encouraged to share your hopes and dreams with City representatives about what kind of place you want Charlotte to be. Planning With your dreams in mind, priorities and design infrastructure projects will be set that align with your group's vision. Becoming You'll be engaged throughout the entire process of these projects, making sure the final product meets the shared goals of the community and the City.

IMAGINE

PLAN

BECOME

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Community Investment Plan Storyline-Draft 12/19

A Better Charlotte (Carolina PR)

The result of an evolved CIP and process is a better Charlotte, a community where people want to live, work and enjoy life. City government will have a clearer understanding of citizens' needs and expectations. There will be a renewed level of ownership and accountability to the goals of the CIP and what it means to the community. A sense of pride should be evident when we reflect on what has been built and what the future holds. We, as local government, need to be open and willing to share information. When everyone understands the background of municipal decisions, it's easier to see why those decisions may be right for the community as a whole. There will be challenges along the way in this process but with a mutual commitment to the success of CIP, Charlotte will be transformed. Trust will grow between people from different constituencies and areas of the City--and between citizens and government. Planning will be more holistic and comprehensive, with a long-range view, and it will be easier for each of us to see what's best for all of us. Together, we can make this a reality!

Imagine a City that invests millions, creates jobs and keeps neighborhoods safe Imagine a City that plans for its future 20 years from now Imagine a City that engages its community to help shape what it could become

Imagine Charlottes Community Investment Plan!

(Sketch by Carolina PR)

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