Neighbors object to 900+ homes and a school near Rea Farms

Concerns about traffic, stormwater dominate discussion at community meeting

The following article appeared in the December 15, 2023, 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.

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CMS and Childress Klein are proposing a middle school + 917 homes in south Charlotte; ‘It will make this road a parking lot!’

by Tony Mecia

Some residents in the Rea Farms area of south Charlotte are raising objections about a big development near their neighborhood that would include a new middle school and nearly 1,000 homes.

At a community meeting on Wednesday night at Polo Ridge Elementary, about 80 residents turned out to hear about the plans from representatives of developer Childress Klein and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools – and many of them were displeased about the potential effects of traffic and stormwater runoff by their neighborhoods.

A rezoning proposal filed with the city calls for 682 apartments, 211 townhomes and 24 single-family homes, for a total of 917 housing units, plus a new middle school along Tom Short Road.

Objections from neighbors in the adjacent Stone Creek Ranch development echoed those of residents in other parts of Charlotte near other proposed developments, who have said that officials have moved too slowly to upgrade infrastructure to handle the influx of new residents.