CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Monday night, Charlotte City Council took up a slew of zoning petitions, requesting to develop areas across the Queen City.
Ten people signed up ahead of the meeting to speak both for and against one petition that looks to develop about 147 acres near the Whitewater Center. The plans say the petitioners would like to build warehouses and office space for a large industrial facility off Rhyne Road.
The land is currently a mostly wooded area and more than half of it is zoned for residential use, while other portions are already zoned for industrial use.
However, resident Kimberly Helms wants the property to stay the way it is.
"I keep being told something has to be built there, but why?" Helms asked City Council. "Why can we not just leave a forest and a creek alone?”
Helms worried that the large facility would bring noise, pollution, and traffic to the area. She also raised concerns about the facility lowering property values for the houses next door.
A survey done of the neighborhood next to the land found that about 80% of residents that responded disapproved of the plan.
However, attorney Collin Brown argued that the land is going to be developed regardless, so having one major facility would be better than several smaller ones.
“This site plan has one access point off Rhyne Road," Brown explained. "So, instead of seeing these parcels just developed separately with lots of driveways, this allows us to have a uniform transportation plan and put some meaningful improvements on the table.”
The petition for the 147-acre facility will be taken up by the Zoning Board on Nov. 1.
At the meeting, multiple petitions were approved by City Council, including:
- Expanding the YMCA on West Boulevard
- Building an apartment complex in the North Lake area
- Building a Porsche and Maserati dealership off Interstate 485
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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