How we work
Editorial Methodology & Correction Policy
How this site is researched, written, sourced, and corrected — and what we deliberately choose not to publish.
What this site is
Discover Sedgefield is an independently edited resident guide to the Sedgefield neighborhood in Charlotte, NC's 28209 zip code. It is written and maintained with a local, on-the-ground perspective, and is affiliated with a small set of local businesses disclosed in full on our Our Network and Advertising Disclosure pages. We are not affiliated with any homeowners association, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, or any government agency.
How we source information
Wherever a claim can be verified against a primary or authoritative source — city and county government pages, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), historic preservation records, or MLS data — we link that source directly at the bottom of the relevant page under a "Sources" heading. Where information reflects general local knowledge, resident experience, or editorial description of character and history rather than a specific verifiable statistic, we say so and avoid stating it as a precise fact.
What we deliberately don't publish
- Specific home prices or market statistics. Real estate values change quickly and vary block by block. Rather than publish figures that go stale or mislead, we point readers to Canopy MLS and local agents for current numbers.
- Invented or unsourced statistics. We do not fabricate demographic, school performance, crime, or market figures. If we cannot verify a number against a current, citable source, we describe the situation qualitatively instead.
- Phone numbers and awards. We avoid publishing phone numbers or award claims for affiliated or recommended businesses on this site; readers are directed to those businesses' own websites for current contact information and credentials.
Primary sources we rely on
When a claim can be tied to an authoritative government or institutional record, we use it as the primary source and link to it directly rather than relying on secondhand summaries. The sources we draw from most often include:
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) for school assignment and attendance-boundary information, which we treat as time-sensitive since boundaries are redrawn periodically — we always point readers to CMS's own boundary tool for the current-year assignment rather than restating a boundary as permanent.
- Mecklenburg County GIS and property records (Polaris) for parcel boundaries, lot sizes, zoning designations, and historic district overlays.
- City of Charlotte Development Center for permitting records, rezoning petitions, and infrastructure or streetscape project status.
- Canopy MLS, accessed through our affiliated and other licensed real estate professionals rather than scraped or republished directly, for general market context — never for specific listing prices, which we do not publish.
- NCDOT for state road, intersection, and traffic-project information relevant to routes through and around Sedgefield.
- Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) for current bus routes, light rail extensions, and transit planning documents.
Where a page references one of these sources, you'll find it linked in that page's "Sources" section at the bottom. If a specific figure or boundary can't be tied to one of these primary sources, we either omit it or clearly frame it as general description rather than verified fact.
How often content is reviewed, and how we hedge time-sensitive facts
Pages touching on school boundaries, transit schedules, zoning, and permitting activity are reviewed on an ongoing basis as we become aware of changes, rather than on a fixed calendar — these categories change at the pace of school board votes, city council action, and transit agency scheduling, which don't follow a predictable publishing cycle. Rather than promise a review cadence we can't guarantee, we handle time sensitivity in the writing itself: school assignment language is framed as "check current CMS boundaries" rather than stated as a fixed fact; transit information links to CATS's live schedule pages instead of restating specific times; and any zoning or development status is described as of the time of writing with a pointer to the city's live case-tracking tools for current status. This approach means a page can remain useful and accurate in its framing even between review passes, because the time-sensitive detail lives at the authoritative source, not frozen in our text.
Editorial independence from affiliated businesses
The affiliated businesses described on our Our Network page do not write, approve, or pay for the editorial content on this site. Nobody at Peters Custom Homes, Peters & Associates, Emerald & Oak, or Peters Audio Video reviews an article before it publishes, and none of them has the ability to remove or alter unrelated content. Their influence on this site is limited to what's disclosed: they are named where relevant to their discipline, and their own landing pages describe their services in their own words. Coverage of Sedgefield's history, streets, schools, and neighborhood character is written independently of whether it reflects well or poorly on any affiliated business, and we do not omit a topic — traffic concerns, older infrastructure, zoning disputes — because it might be inconvenient for an affiliated business's marketing.
How we use — and don't use — AI tooling
Some drafting, editing, and research-organization on this site is assisted by AI tools, in the same way many editorial teams now use spell-check, grammar tools, or outline assistants. AI tools are not used as a substitute for verifying facts against the primary sources listed above; any factual claim tied to schools, boundaries, permitting, or transit is checked against the actual government or institutional source before publishing, not generated from an AI tool's general knowledge. AI tooling is not used to fabricate statistics, invent quotes, generate fake reviews, or simulate resident testimonials. A human editor is responsible for what's published on this site, including anything drafted with AI assistance.
The limits of this guide
This site is a starting point for understanding Sedgefield, not a substitute for professional advice specific to your situation. We are not attorneys, appraisers, surveyors, or licensed inspectors, and nothing on this site should be read as legal, financial, or engineering advice. Neighborhood character, historical notes, and editorial description of streets and architecture reflect our best research and local knowledge at the time of writing, but they are not a substitute for a title search, a survey, a licensed inspection, or direct confirmation from the relevant government office before you make a decision. When in doubt about a specific fact that matters to a real decision — a boundary line, a school assignment, a permit status — verify it directly with the source, not with this site alone.
How we handle affiliated businesses
Several businesses referenced on this site — Peters Custom Homes, Peters & Associates, Emerald & Oak, and Peters Audio Video — share common ownership with this site. We disclose that relationship clearly wherever those businesses are mentioned, and we do not present them as the only option for any service. Independent businesses and service categories referenced elsewhere on the site (inspectors, landscapers, arborists, roofers, movers, and similar) are described generically and are not endorsements of any single company. See our full Advertising Disclosure for details.
Updates and review
Neighborhood boundaries, school assignments, transit schedules, and market conditions change over time. We periodically review published pages for accuracy, but we cannot guarantee that every page reflects the most current information at every moment — always confirm time-sensitive details (school zoning, transit schedules, pricing) directly with the relevant authoritative source before making a decision based on them.
Correction policy
If you find an error — outdated boundary information, an incorrect school assignment, a broken source link, or anything else — we want to know. Email the correction using the address on our Contact page. We review every submission and update the relevant page when a correction is verified. We do not promise a specific turnaround time, but corrections involving factual accuracy are prioritized over stylistic suggestions.