CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte city council members are hoping to prevent a developer from building on land in the Mallard Creek area. However, it's unclear if their plan will work under the city’s new zoning rules.
On Mallard Creek Road, a developer was hoping to build 156 townhomes outside the Lexington neighborhood. After intense pushback from neighbors, the builder requested to withdraw its rezoning petition.
In a move city staff members said they've never seen before, the Charlotte City Council voted six to five Monday to not let the petition be withdrawn.
"If there is a way to limit density at that site, at that location, that’s what residents have asked and I’m the voice for the people, and I agree," Councilwoman Reneé Johnson said before the vote Monday.
Members prevented the withdrawal so they could officially deny the petition. The goal was put the Mallard Creek property in a blackout period for two years, which is standard when a rezoning petition is denied.
"In all normal circumstances, it is locked up," Councilman Tariq Bokhari explained to WCNC Charlotte. "That means that no one can rezone it or even go for a rezoning for two years."
However, under the city’s new zoning rules called the Unified Development Ordinance, or UDO, the developer can build more housing on the land than it originally planned in the rezoning petition without the need for council’s approval.
Several leaders hoped denying the petition and putting the land in a blackout period could prevent higher density there, but the move goes against what the UDO allows by right, which concerns Councilman Bokhari.
"It was almost an all-out assault on, 'We don't want any development,' and that's not good," Bokhari said.
If the land is put into a blackout, there are exceptions that allow city council to lift it later for a new rezoning petition.
The vote is one example showing the complications and confusion city council and staff members are working through as they transition from Charlotte’s old zoning rules to the new UDO.
WCNC Charlotte reached out to Councilwoman Johnson for an interview and did not hear back at the time of this publication.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story stated the petition called for 186 townhomes but city staff notified WCNC Charlotte after publication the developer reduced its plans to 156 townhomes. Wording was also clarified to ensure readers understand by right, development is still allowed on land that is in a rezoning blackout period.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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