Fireworks in Ballantyne over development plans

The Following was posted to The Charlotte Ledger on Friday September 29, 2023

by Lindsey Banks

Traffic woes take center stage in fiery meeting over proposed development off Rea Road, and some residents question city councilman’s integrity; ‘I’m a moral person, and I can’t be bought,’ he replies.

Nearly 300 people turned out for the second community meeting Thursday at St. Matthew Catholic Church about a controversial residential development in the Ballantyne area. The first meeting on the topic drew such a large overflow crowd that some people brought camping chairs to Thursday night’s meeting to ensure they would have a place to sit.

Hundreds of Ballantyne-area residents showed up for what turned into a fiery meeting Thursday night over a controversial 53-acre residential development proposed for an area between Elm Lane and Rea Road — with some attendees calling attention to Charlotte City Councilman Ed Driggs’ contributions from developers.

Developer RK Investments plans to build 640 housing units, with 500 apartments and the remainder a mix of single-family houses and townhomes on what is now wooded land. An earlier version of the project called for 1,100 housing units, but the number shrank after an outcry from local residents earlier this year. (The site is south of the Four Mile Creek Greenway, near the shopping center with the Trader Joe’s.)

Traffic was the big worry on the minds of residents Thursday night, who took to the microphone to argue that the area’s intersections are already overwhelmed by traffic and will only get more clogged by adding homes. 

Residents talked over and interrupted each other as they battled to be heard.

One woman pointed out that it takes two or three light cycles to get through the light at one of the area’s intersections already. “Frankly, we’re screwed,” she said. 

The traffic engineer responded: “There’s an existing traffic problem. It’s not my fault.” 

Then laughter filled the room.

Traffic engineers presented a study they conducted in April 2022 and explained what road improvements would be made to the area, such as new left and right turn lanes at certain intersections, modified signal timing and pedestrian crossings. 

The project has been a source of contention in the community for months, with residents saying they worry about environmental implications as well as traffic. Residents have said that a pair of American bald eagles live in the wooded area, and some worry the eagles’ habitat would be destroyed. A change.org petition that started in February called “Save the Eagles — Request Charlotte City Council Vote NO On Rezoning” has nearly 14,000 signatures. 

The topic of the eagles came up only briefly at the end of Thursday night’s meeting.

Driggs gets dragged: 

Driggs, who is the city council representative for the Piper Glen area and much of south Charlotte, found himself in the hot seat several times during the meeting, with some members of the audience questioning his integrity and accusing him of being influenced by developers who contribute to his campaign. 

Much of the room seemed in favor of Driggs, however, and applauded when he defended himself. Driggs is one of the council’s two Republican members and was first elected in 2013. He’ll be on November’s ballot for a sixth term but has no opposition.

Driggs didn’t say during the meeting whether he’ll vote in favor or against the current proposal.

At one point, Driggs was explaining how the city council approves rezoning requests, when a man interrupted him to ask how many people standing behind him (referring to the developer, architect and traffic engineers in attendance) contributed to his campaign. 

“I’ve heard about that going around,” Driggs answered. “I do get campaign contributions from the business community and the real estate community — no more than a couple thousand dollars from any individual, and they support me because I’m the only guy they can talk to. They don’t get any favors from me. I worked on Wall Street. I retired comfortably. I’m a moral person, and I can’t be bought.”

Driggs’ publicly available campaign finance reports show that he has accepted contributions from executives at a wide range of real estate-related firms, including a total of $1,150 in donations from three executives with RK Investments in March 2022, shortly before the developer indicated to the city that it would attempt to rezone the Elm Lane/Rea Road property.

In the last two years, the reports show, donors have given Driggs about $71,000, the vast majority of which came in amounts of less than $1,000. Generally, in Charlotte, developers tend to be some of the largest contributors to city council campaigns.

Later in the meeting, one woman said, “This is already a done deal. We know that. You’ve given us the opportunity to just come in and rage.”

Driggs raised his voice, “It’s not a done deal, alright?”

He later walked up to her, positioned himself a foot from her face, and said, “I haven’t given up hope — you have. I’m still fighting.”

The room applauded. 

The Ledger caught up with Driggs toward the end of the night, and he said the meeting was the “second worst” community meeting he’s ever attended. 

The proposal will go before the city council in the next several months, and if approved, construction would likely start next year. 

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