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Kimberly Owens

Council Member, District 6

District 6

Kimberly Owens

District 6 · Term 2025–2027

Kimberly Owens represents District 6 on the Charlotte City Council. She made history as the first Democrat elected to the District 6 seat, winning in November 2025. First-term council member.

Owens voted yes on the Crosland Southeast affordable housing project and invoked the Constitution on separation of church and state during a March 2026 zoning hearing. She has been active in the Q1 2026 budget and zoning discussions, including East Charlotte townhome density debates. During the April 13 Housing Trust Fund review, Owens pressed staff on the Willora Lake rezoning-to-funding sequence and surfaced a key detail: the developer indicated it would pursue HTF funding for two rounds, after which it would develop the site at the approved density with no affordability restrictions.

On May 23, Council voted unanimously to approve the partial rezoning of the Manor Theater site (petition 2026-003), about 20 percent of the Eastover parcel, the rear of the property zoned office. Owens, whose District 6 covers the site, championed the rezoning and framed it as a transition rather than a demolition: “The Manor Theater has been in existence for 73 or so years. It was one of the victims of the pandemic. It was the first and last place to see art house films in Charlotte.” The redevelopment will replace the long-closed art house with 120–130 residential units and roughly 35,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. Construction is expected to begin in 2027.

In The Mercury

Manor Theater Redevelopment Approved

May 23 · Petition 2026-003 · Owens championed

Charlotte Housing Trust Fund Staff Picks Are In. The Questions Are Already Louder Than the Numbers.

HTF staff recommendations · Two-round affordability clock revelation

Charlotte City Council Passes First Post-Sales-Tax Transit Budget, Sends Street Vending Back to Committee

April 13 business meeting recap

Charlotte City Council 2026: Budget Pressures, Toll Lane Fights, and the Topics That Actually Matter

Q1 2026 recap · Constitution invocation

Six Council Members Voted for Affordable Housing in East Charlotte. Four Who Champion Equity Voted No.

Crosland Southeast · Yes vote

What The Mayor Pro Tem Vote Reveals About Charlotte's New City Council

Council dynamics and alignment

Charlotte City Council Approves $4.3M Transit Authority Start-Up

Transit authority funding

When Neighbors Push Back: Far East Charlotte Residents Challenge Dense Townhome Plan

East Charlotte density debates

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Coverage (1 article)

Other coverage in the Mercury Local network

Charlotte's Safety Committee Advances a 9 p.m. Curfew for Everyone Under 18

The Charlotte Mercury·

The City Council's Safety Committee voted unanimously to send the full council a single 9 p.m. curfew for everyone under 18, replacing the current age-tiered rules. The change still needs a full-council vote, expected in August. The members who advanced it spent the meeting warning that a curfew alone won't fix what draws teens into the streets.

Charlotte City Council Names Robert Harrington, Its Next Mayor

The Charlotte Mercury·

After a runoff decided by a single vote, the City Council chose Robert Harrington, a Robinson Bradshaw attorney who has never held elected office, as Charlotte's next mayor. He beat civic leader Carrie Cook 6 to 5 and will succeed Vi Lyles on July 1.

The Five Finalists for Charlotte Mayor, in Their Own Words

The Charlotte Mercury·

The council interviewed five finalists for interim mayor on June 18 and set the appointment vote for Monday. Here is how each got on the ballot, what they told council about running meetings, the I-77 tolls, and the airport, and how the June 22 vote will work.

A Member of the Council Will Help Pick the Next Mayor. He Is Also Running for the Job.

The Charlotte Mercury·

Mayor Pro Tem James Mitchell Jr. applied for the interim mayor seat the council will fill, and he can vote for himself. Council members raised a conflict; the city attorney ruled there is no legal basis for recusal, citing the Patsy Kinsey precedent. The question of whether Mitchell should be excused was left unresolved.

Manor Theater Redevelopment Approved

The Charlotte Mercury·

Charlotte City Council on Monday unanimously approved a partial rezoning of the Manor Theater site on Providence Road, clearing the way for SLRH Acquisitions to redevelop the long-closed Eastover landmark into 120 to 130 residential units and roughly 35,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. Three council members — Kimberly Owens, Danté Anderson, and J.D. Mazuera Arias — walked the room through their first memories of the building before the vote.

Brendan Maginnis Offers to Serve as Interim Mayor

The Charlotte Mercury·

Brendan K. Maginnis, the runner-up in Charlotte's September 2025 Democratic mayoral primary, has volunteered for the interim mayor appointment — from Copenhagen, where his family moved in January, and with a demographic-counter argument the Mercury did not solicit. By his count — initially approximately 46, revised to 44 in a follow-up email — none of those Democratic elected officials representing Charlotte at various levels are white males. The pitch collides with Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP President Corine Mack's public call for the council to elevate the Mayor Pro Tem rather than install a placeholder.

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