MATTHEWS, N.C. — After a five to two vote late Monday night, the Matthews Town Council approved the development that will go on Idlewild Road near the Interstate 485 interchange.
Sante Matthews will include a grocery store, a bank, restaurants and retail, and 570 units of housing. The housing includes apartments and townhomes for rent and houses for sale.
Pappas Properties, the developer behind Sante Matthews, is marketing it as a wellness-focused community. The site plan has several parks and green spaces, as well as a wellness center.
Dozens of neighbors showed up to town hall ahead of the meeting to protest the project. Many are concerned about the traffic and high density the plan will create. However, some neighbors have said they are excited about the growth.
"It’d be nice to have a place to hang out in this community—a place we can dine, eat good food, place where we can purchase healthy groceries," Leroy Flowers previously told WCNC Charlotte. His house is within walking distance from where the development will be.
There will also be a roundabout added to Idlewild Road right outside of the community and other road improvements to address congestion.
At Monday night's meeting, several people spoke out against the plan during the public comment period.
"I’m very disappointed in this town," one neighbor said. "You’re not listening to the people who are most affected by this. We are all upset by this because we feel we’ve been totally left out and ignored.”
However, developer Peter Pappas and some town councilmembers argued they have been listening to residents and that can be seen in the changes made to the project. Pappas Properties adjusted its site plan to reduce some of the high-density housing units, offer an attainable housing program, and add more green space.
Town councilmembers took turns responding to residents' concerns Monday night and many listed reasons why they back the project before voting to approve it five to two.
Construction is expected to start in the first quarter of 2024.
Allegations of freedom of speech violations
Some people that spoke out during the rezoning petition process are alleging their rights have been violated due to how the public hearing was handled.
The concerned neighbors and town commissioner Gina Hoover think the board may have not given a fair opportunity for feedback because people were only allowed to speak once during the public hearing for the project.
The public hearing was held on Nov. 14 and then extended into the December board meeting due to the high volume of people that signed up to speak.
Because there were changes made to the project throughout the process, Hoover thinks people should've been allowed to speak more than once if desired.
Hoover also added that she can't find any written policy that limits how often people can speak in a hearing. Mayor John Higdon explained Monday night why they enforce it.
"During a public hearing, it is also the custom of this board to limit members of the public to only one -- to only speak once to allow ample opportunity for everyone who wishes to speak," Higdon said. "This has been the custom of this board for over 50 years.”
Pappas Properties met with neighbors and neighborhood leaders several times during the rezoning process. In addition to the lengthy public hearing, many citizens also gave feedback on the project during town council's public comment period it holds at the beginning of every meeting.
Hoover spoke about her concerns regarding possible freedom of speech violation in the Monday meeting before voting against the Sante Matthews project.
In a statement to WCNC Charlotte, Mayor Higdon said:
“I believe the Town of Matthews has complied with the letter and spirit of the first amendment and NC laws on public hearings and public comment, and that our citizens had opportunities to express their opinions at public comment periods, the public hearing, conversations with Board members, and e-mails, texts, and phone calls to Board members.”
According to Duke Law, if someone thinks a body has violated open meeting laws, they may have to take legal action to dispute it.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.