Charlotte City Council Member Ed Driggs Email Regarding Gillespie Property Rezoning

Below is Charlotte City Council Member Ed Driggs email regarding the Gillespie Property Meeting held last week.

A link to Ed's attachments is at the end of the email. Some of my thoughts on the Council Member's email is at the bottom. CS

August 21, 2023

To all, 

Following the Community Meeting for the Gillespie rezoning on Thursday, I would like to share some impressions and thoughts with you.  Paul Davis provided to me some notes he took during the meeting, which I am attaching unabridged to this message along with my additional comments in red.  I am also attaching the slides that were used at the meeting. Please let me know if any issues are still missing from the notes Paul and I took. 

Needless to say, the major takeaway from the meeting is that residents are still overwhelmingly opposed to the petition, even after the reduction in the number of units.  Broadly speaking, major issues could be classified as traffic, environment, schools and suitability of this type of investment at that location.  

It was disappointing that some people that wanted to attend the meeting were not able to because the facility was at capacity.  I discussed the meeting at some length with Tom Coyne and agreed with him that a follow-up meeting would be scheduled in the near future at a different location and at a time when he is able to attend.  The petitioner will coordinate a date with him, and an announcement will be circulated through all available channels.  

I would like to respond to some questions and comments about my role in the zoning approval process. First of all, I am  committed to ensuring that all community questions are answered, and that feedback from residents is seen by staff, the Zoning Committee, and Council.  The professionals submitting the petition will not have an advantage over residents who may not have experience with this process.  When the proposal was for 1,100 units, it was easy for me to advise petitioners that they were way off the mark and had no chance of success.  The current plan of 640 units is still aggressive but not so far out of line with other development in Charlotte that it won’t get processed by staff and the Zoning Committee.  At this point, I need to respect my responsibilities as a member of Council and let the petitioners have their day in court.   

In the meantime, I need to share with you that, some months ago, I engaged with County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell to explore the idea of creating a park on all or part of the Gillespie property.  She told me recently that she had pursued that idea with the County Parks and Recreation Department, which was willing to negotiate to buy the land but had been unable to establish a dialogue with the owner.   

I don’t know at this point whether a solution that includes Parks and Recreation is still remotely possible.  I will certainly continue to look into it as an option.  In the meantime, in case it isn’t, I want to engage with you to find out what type of development you think would work on the Gillespie property.  The Charlotte 2040 Future Comprehensive Plan, adopted by Council in 2021 over my strenuous objection, focuses on creating high density housing as a means of increasing supply and slowing the rise of housing costs.  Any proposal related to the site, whether offered by the current petitioner or a successor, will need to be considered in the context of the current reality of Council priorities. 

I will continue to communicate with residents on events related to this petition and am available to attend meetings in addition to the one the petitioner will schedule with Tom Coyne.  We can talk about options residents have to communicate with Council and the Zoning Commission, and I can arrange meetings with staff members such as CDOT engineers on request.  Meanwhile, I encourage residents to organize around a steering committee such as the one Tom Coyne and Paul Davis have already established, so that an orderly negotiation can take place between residents and any petitioners concerning the future of the site. 

Ed Driggs

Charlotte City Council District 7

(704) 432-7077

Attachment One 

Attachment Two

Chip Starr My thoughts:

I understand that the developer was asked if he could develop the property as zoned and his answer was absolutely not.

What Mr. Ranson is proposing is typical of projects along Charlotte's Central Avenue and South Boulevard. While some people like the look and vibe of NoDa, South End and Plaza Midwood it is not in keeping with our South Charlotte neighborhoods. Basically RK Investments Charlotte, LLC is asking for urban zoning in a non-urban setting. 

Originally the proposal suggested a 40% tree save now RK Investments Charlotte, LLC has reduced that to the city mandated 30% - in other words the developer is planning to destroy 70% of the tree canopy. Keep in mind that much of the "saved" is from the 13 acres that are undevelopable wetlands.

Mr. Driggs comment about Mecklenburg County Park and Rec is comical. "Engaged with County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell to explore the idea of creating a park on all or part of the Gillespie property."  I suppose that means he sent an email. Actually several residents have been working with Meck county since early February and apparently the developer is non-responsive. 

Finally the local media will present this as Piper Glen homeowners against the developer, but most of those speaking up last week are not from Piper Glen. This is not a us vs them cause, this is common sense vs greed and a city council member owned by developers and real estate professionals.

You will also notice that Council Member Driggs' email says nothing about the Eagles or even wildlife in general.

CS