City Council likely to approve south Charlotte rezoning
Would add 566 homes between Elm Lane and Rea Road near Piper Glen
The following article appeared in the June 17, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Controversial Piper Glen rezoning likely to pass city council tonight; project has seen changes in recent weeks
A tense meeting between residents and the developer in September 2023.
A plan to bring apartments and townhomes to the Piper Glen area in south Charlotte that residents fought for more than a year is headed to a vote tonight by Charlotte City Council, and it appears likely to pass after recent changes that made it more palatable to neighbors.
South Charlotte residents turned out by the hundreds in neighborhood meetings and a March city council public hearing to oppose the development in what’s now a wooded area between Elm Lane and Rea Road. They said it would exacerbate flooding, increase traffic, disrupt the character of surrounding areas and pose a threat to two nesting American bald eagles who live in the area.
Original plans called for 1,100 housing units, which was reduced to 640 units at the time of the March public hearing. In recent weeks, the developer, RK Investments, agreed to reduce the number of units again and added additional improvements to the area, according to a memo city councilman Ed Driggs sent to constituents in that area. The property sits in Driggs’ district.
According to Driggs, the new plan includes:
Construction of 566 apartment and townhome units.
A publicly accessible greenway through the site that connects via a pedestrian bridge to Four Mile Creek greenway, giving residents in nearby Elm Lane neighborhoods the ability to access the greenways that they don’t have now.
Improvement of an existing pond to create additional stormwater capacity.
A tree save area and new plantings on Rea Road and Elm Lane, which will make the development “virtually invisible” from either road.
Driggs told The Ledger on Sunday that both he and city staff support the plan. Typically, when a rezoning has the backing of city staff and the city council member whose district the rezoning sits in, it wins approval from the full council.
Driggs said Sunday that at a meeting last month with representatives from more than 15 local homeowners association boards to hear the final proposal from the developer, 36 of the 43 board members who voted said they supported the final proposal, with seven opposed.
Driggs told The Ledger that of all the rezoning petitions he’s seen during his decade on city council, “this has been the hardest.” —Cristina Bolling
Related Ledger articles:
“A south Charlotte rezoning is really ruffling feathers” (Oct. 18, 2023)
“Fireworks in Ballantyne over development plans” (September 29)
“Testy Piper Glen rezoning meeting: Neighbors still opposed to Rea Road project after developer slashes number of apartments” (August 21)
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Business manager: Brie Chrisman