Neighbors enlist a pair of bald eagles nicknamed ‘Piper’ and ‘Glen’ to fight plans for 640 homes; developer says birds won’t be harmed
A pair of American bald eagles nicknamed “Piper” (left) and “Glen” are players in a Ballantyne-area rezoning dispute. Their nest on the TPC Piper Glen golf course is approximately 900 feet from a proposed residential development. (Photo by Emilie Knight)
by Lindsey Banks
Development disputes are common in a growing city like Charlotte, and upset residents often cite the usual complaints of traffic, noise and school crowding when making their case against new projects.
One current dispute over a large apartment development in the Ballantyne area has a bit of a twist: It rides on the wings of two unlikely characters — a pair of American bald eagles that neighbors have named “Piper” and “Glen.”
The eagles’ nest sits high in a tree near the driving range at the TPC Piper Glen private country club and golf course off Rea Road. Developer RK Investments has plans for a 640-unit development on 53 acres between Rea Road and Elm Lane — which community members say is about 900 feet from Piper and Glen’s nest.
The eagles quickly became drawn into the fight against the development and headlined a petition that has been circulating for 8 months: “Save the Eagles -- Request Charlotte City Council VOTE NO on Rea Road Rezoning.”
The petition's author, Piper Glen resident Chris McIntire, says he and other nearby residents worry that the construction will disturb the eagles’ habitat and drive them away from the area, among other wildlife and traffic concerns.
The developer regards the dust-up over the eagles as a convenient anti-development talking point and says the bird couple is not at risk.
McIntire and some other eagle advocates invited a Ledger reporter to Piper Glen to catch a glimpse of Piper and Glen.
Indeed, on the afternoon that we visited, the two eagles were perched on a tree across a pond behind the golf clubhouse. Bob Barrows, a resident who lives a few miles away and monitors the eagles, narrowed in on their white heads through his binoculars. He knows their favorite perching spots.
“Piper is the bigger one,” Barrows pointed out to the Ledger reporter, and to community members Kim Hombes and Mike Cohen.
Piper and Glen have been residents of the golf course for at least 12 years, Barrows said, and are the only known nesting pair of eagles in Charlotte. Eagles use their nests only during mating season in the winter months, and many pairs of eagles, like Piper and Glen, stay near their nesting territory year-round.
“If you go to Google and you type in ‘Rea Road’ or ‘eagles,’” McIntire told the group, “the first question that comes up [is] are there really eagles in Charlotte? And the answer is, yes.”
Soaring rhetoric: Over the last several months, many community members have banded together to urge the city council to keep the property under its current zoning, which allows for triplexes and single-family homes. The RK Investments plan includes 500 apartments and a mix of single-family houses and townhomes.
Hundreds of local residents turned out for a hot community meeting last month about the proposal, mostly crying foul over potential traffic increases. The eagles were mentioned briefly at the end of the meeting.
Since the “Save The Eagles” petition began in February, it has garnered almost 15,000 signatures.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service says that developers have to be at a minimum of 600 feet away from eagle nests. Right now, Piper and Glen are about 900 feet away, McIntire said.
In a March report by WFAE about the eagles and the rezoning petition, Carolina Raptor Center CEO Erin Katzner said it’s hard to say whether the Rea Road development proposal would pose a problem for the eagles, and what would need to be done to prevent it from being a problem.
City Councilmen Ed Driggs, who lives in Piper Glen and represents much of south Charlotte, told The Ledger that the city will follow federal regulations to protect the eagles.
“Some people have made [the eagles] the centerpiece of their protest,” Driggs said, “and I don't think federal regulations protecting eagles are triggered by development at this remote location. … The city will certainly respect the habitat of the eagles and will do everything that is required to protect them by regulations. I don’t think that they will be disturbed that much.”
Russell Ranson of RK Investments told The Ledger that he believes the development will not harm the eagles.
“I think the opposition is against all growth in Charlotte, not so much our project,” Ranson said. “It’s just a desire for Charlotte to stop accommodating newcomers.”
To be sure, the eagles aren’t the only concerns residents have about the proposed development.
“We come back to the four things,” McIntire said. “The eagles, the trees, the wildlife — and that includes water quality and air quality — and then the traffic.”
Ranson said RK Investments is pursuing the Rea Road site because it’s walkable to a neighborhood shopping center, and Charlotte should focus development near areas where people have amenities within walking distance.
“[Mecklenburg County] has over 200,000 people on the way in the next 10 years by all estimates,” Ranson said. “We have no more land. Infrastructure surrounding this site is so much better than the rest of Charlotte. It’s well-suited to receive more newcomers — much more well-suited than other sites in Charlotte.”
He touted road improvements he says will help with extra cars that will come as a result of the development: turn lanes at Elm Lane and Rea Road along Highway 51 to improve traffic congestion as well as a pedestrian crosswalk at Bevington.
“I think we have done a remarkable thing by reducing our plan [for 1,100 units] by 42%, so I’m not sure what further we could do beyond the traffic improvements and trails we’re promising,” Ranson said. “Everything that we have done has been in the interests of Charlotte.”
What’s next: Ranson said RK Investments doesn’t plan on making any changes to its site plan following the fiery community meeting last month.
City staff will continue to review the petition and make a recommendation, and there will be a public hearing before an eventual City Council vote.
Driggs said that it is unlikely that a decision will be made by the end of this year — which means for Piper and Glen, their fate must hang in the air a little longer.
Lindsey Banks is a staff reporter for The Ledger: lindsey@cltledger.com
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