CLTCC Ed Driggs: Update on the Rea Road Gillespie Property Rezoning

The following email was received from Charlotte City Council Member Ed Driggs this morning Wednesday April 19, 2023

 To all,

I have been advised that Charlotte planning staff, up to and including the Planning Director, have communicated their strong opposition to rezoning petition 2022-121 as submitted by RK Investments Charlotte LLC.  The staff position was based on many of the same concerns I had expressed in my first meeting with the petitioner, and which you have all communicated so clearly to me and the petitioner since then.  Staff made some suggestions for a dramatically different approach to development including a mix of housing types with minimal if any apartments.  They also suggested that the petitioner try harder to achieve some kind of alignment with residents before submitting any further proposals.  

I had indicated to you previously that I thought the staff analysis might serve as a wake up call for the petitioner and that residents should wait to see how that turns out before engaging in any further in opposition to this proposal.  Based on the staff response and my own clearly stated opposition, I can safely say there is no chance the petition will be approved in anything like its current form.  

There is no indication yet of how the petitioner intends to proceed based on the staff analysis.  Based on the large disparity between the current petition and the view staff and I have on what might be appropriate at that location, the time line leading up to any Council decision has now gotten longer, probably by several months at least.  

If any individual or group among you would like to discuss what solution might be workable at the site, I am happy to attend a meeting or talk on the phone.  

My cell number is (704) 574-7262.

Ed Driggs

Charlotte City Council District 7

(704) 432-7077

Rea Road Gillespie Property Rezoning Update No. 8

Our Rea Road GIllespie Property Rezoning Petition requesting Charlotte City Council Members VOTE NO has surpassed more than 10,000 signatures.

Our photo for this update was taken by TPC Piper Glen Golf Course Director of Grounds Steffie Safrit 

showing the flooding that occured on March 27, 2023.

We continue to communicate with City of Charlotte staff regarding the rezoning of the GIllespie Property. As of this past Friday the developer had not responded to City of Charlotte staff requests for corrections, changes, clarifications and modifications.  In short the rezoning request is on hold until they do.

Piper Glen's Old St. Andrews HOA will hold their annual meeting this Thursday (April 20, 2023) at the South County Library 5801 Rea Road Charlotte NC 28277 from 6:00 PM until 7:30 PM while the rezoning issue is not on the agenda it is likely that the Gillespie Property will come up. (Open to OSA property owners only.)

Charlotte City Council Member Ed Driggs will hold a "coffee" on Saturday April 29th from 9 AM - 12 Noon 

Location St. Matthew Catholic Church 

8515 Ballantyne Commons Parkway 

Charlotte, NC 28277

Mr. Driggs has listed his topics for discussion as follows:

Property Tax Revaluation 
UDO Implementation of June 1st (Unified Development Ordinance
Rezoning Petitions & Decisions 
CDOT & NCDOT Road Project Updates
CMPD Safety and Crime Updates
Ballantyne Reimagined Projects & Development
School Construction Projects

While Mr. Driggs does not specifically mention the Gillespie Property we imagine it will be addressed. 

The meeting is open to the public.

We also continue to pursue the idea of creating a "Nature Preserve" from the Gillespie Property in whole or part with the help of Mecklenburg County and if needed via a private / public partnership.

What used to be a once every other year event has now become a several times a year event. This is largely due to over development within South Charlotte and throughout the Rea Road Neighborhoods.

You can find more information the Gillespie Property Rezoning, traffic, flooding, and our Eagles, Piper and Glen at Rea Road Neighborhood Coalition we appreciate your continued support.

Our Mission:

We encourage "Smart Growth" in South Charlotte by denying zoning changes that add to density saturation, as well as the protection of wildlife and our quality of life. 
 

Carolina Raptor Center Notes on Piper Glen Eagles

We appreciate Bob with the Carolina Raptor Center sharing his "field notes" from his visit last week. Hope you enjoy Bob's observations and commentary. 

We continue to work to protect wildlife in the Rea Road area and encourage Charlotte City Council to embrace smart growth protecting all wildlife.

The photo below is courtesy of Emilie Knight and all rights are reserved. 

CAROLINA RAPTOR CENTER

BALD EAGLE NEST OBSERVATION NOTES

OBSERVER: Bob

NEST LOCATION: Piper Glen Golf Club (Driving Range) 4300 Piper Glen Dri

DATE OF VISIT: 04/11/2023

TIME OF VISIT: 6:35 PM – 8:15 PM

WEATHER CONDITIONS: 69 F; wind 3mph SSW; Sunny

BAEA’s PRESENT: Yes; 2 BAEAs & 2 Eaglets

OBSERVATION NOTES:

March 20, 2023 Eagle Glen bringing home dinner to Piper with one of two eaglets visible. 

As I walked from the parking lot onto the cart path I was startled by a BAEA flying

from one of the trees nearby the clubhouse. It flew over the reservoir and headed in
the direction of the nest tree. I walked out onto the dam looking for a sighting
location for the nest that was not obscured by the leaves. 

I found it a little more than halfway along the dam and set up my scope. I sighted in and could see the tip of a head of an eaglet.

After watching the nest for a prolonged period I decided that I might get a better
view of the nest from down below near the small pond. I found a wide open view
of the nest from close to the bank of the pond and could see the head of an eaglet
poking above the nest. Again after prolonged viewing, the eaglet raised itself onto
the top of the nest and began exercising its wings. 

After a while the second eaglet began to make its presence known. By this time eaglet #1 began to jump up and down while flapping its wings. It appeared as though it was jumping on a trampoline and was pretty funny to watch. Eaglet # 2 joined in with its sibling and
began its wing exercises.

Around this time I sighted a BAEA perched beyond the golf cart path high in a
dead tree. The sun was still above the tree line and the BAEA seemed to be
relishing the last few rays of sunshine facing directly into it. Based on its size I
believe it was Piper the female.

As the sun was beginning to dip below the tree line I decided to move to the dam
once again. The eaglets remained quite active in the nest and one seemed enamored
with moving sticks around in the nest. I began to scan the reservoir area with my
binoculars and sighted a BAEA on the favored perch across the reservoir from the
clubhouse. I presumed it was Glen, the male, looking for an evening snack for the

nestlings. He remained at that location for the duration of my visit.

The eaglets were becoming even more active in the nest and appeared to be finding
morsels of food that they may have previously overlooked. At one point the more
dominant eaglet appeared to be bullying the other. Perhaps sensing the hunger of
her offspring, Piper flew to Glen’s location and sat beside him on the perch. She
remained there for a few minutes and then flew to a sentry perch above the nest.
As darkness began to fall I decided to take my leave. 

Happy to see that all was well at Piper Glen with the eaglets robust and active.  

Rea Road Gillespie Rezoning Update No. 7

Good Morning,

Our VOTE NO Petition to Charlotte City Council is only 619 signatures away from 10,000!

Meanwhile volunteers continue to explore other options to the proposed development, including having Mecklenburg County Park and Rec acquire the Gillespie Property to preserve the natural habit as it is now.

We are also currently waiting on the developer to resubmit updated plans and respond to Charlotte City Staff requests for changes. There has been no update since March 1st.

Major concern is the flawed traffic study submitted by the developer. 

The developer has stated " impact on traffic would be minimal" based on their traffic study showing an increase of 4,970 vehicle movements daily.

Yet the City's own guidelines suggest that a 1,100 unit multifamily complex would generate an additional 7,432 vehicle movements daily at a minimum.

This, added to the NC DOT 2018 traffic count of 31,000 and we are above a projected traffic count of more than 38,000 daily, an increase of more than 23%. Hardly a minimal impact.

We continue to encourage you to share this petition with your friends and neighbors in the hope that we can convince Charlotte City Council that the Rea Road GIllespie Property rezoning petition should be denied.