CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two project proposals aim to reshape south Charlotte.
On Monday night, Charlotte City Council held public hearings on two housing developments that developers are hoping to build in District 7.
Both projects encompass about 180 acres and could create a mix of housing totaling over 1,500 units in south Charlotte. One project is smaller in size than the other but is being met with fierce opposition.
People in green shirts that said, "No Rezoning" flooded the Government Center Monday night.
"It is very rare, something like this," District 7 Councilman Ed Driggs told WCNC Charlotte.
Driggs was referring to the fact that there are two big rezoning petitions in his district being considered at the same time. Another council member noted during the meeting that they've never seen so many citizens come to a zoning meeting to oppose a petition.
Piper Glen residents are urging city officials to vote no on the petition to build 640 apartments and townhomes, mostly for a retirement community, on 53 acres next to the Four Mile Greenway.
RELATED: Homeowners in south Charlotte concerned about impact of proposed development on environment, traffic
Many homeowners are against having high-density housing in the area due to traffic and congestion concerns. "We’ve asked them three times to reduce it and they haven’t," homeowner Garland Green said during the hearing.
The land, called the Gillespie property, will be developed.
Driggs explained that the decision is whether to allow the developer to build houses and duplexes as allowed on the land in the UDO, or to rezone the property for higher density, but with added community benefits.
"Our UDO promotes the idea of higher-density housing and a diversity of housing types. So, people in single-family home areas are thinking, ‘I don’t want that here, that’s not what this area is like,'" Driggs said.
His district is also home to 125 acres of farmland, called the Cato property, on Tom Short Road. It could be the future home to over 900 apartments, townhomes, and houses, plus a middle school.
Two neighbors came to the public hearing Monday to speak in opposition to the petition.
"If the Gillespie rezoning was an exhibit for overcrowding and over-densifying Charlotte, the Cato rezoning is exhibit 1B for that," south Charlotte resident Glen Danzinger argued.
Driggs previously told WCNC Charlotte that he will not support the Gillespie proposal as it stands, but he thinks the Cato proposal has promise.
"I’m just hoping on Cato in particular that we can work with the residents to achieve an improvement on the stormwater side and a minimum impact on traffic," Driggs said.
City leaders noted this public hearing highlights issues in Charlotte’s new zoning code called the UDO. They think more work needs to be done to ensure infrastructure improvements come with future growth.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.