Neighbors speak out against Rea Road development and city staff recommend against it at a public hearing; Rea Farms school + homes rezoning also debated
Green was the color of the day Monday for dozens of south Charlotte residents who attended a public hearing to oppose the rezoning of 53 acres in the Piper Glen area of south Charlotte.
by Lindsey Banks
A proposal to bring 640 apartments and townhomes to the Piper Glen area in south Charlotte was the big topic of the night at a public hearing before Charlotte City Council Monday, with neighbors opposing the project packing the city council’s chambers and city staff saying they recommend against it.
South Charlotte residents turned out to voice their concerns about the development in what’s now wooded area between Elm Lane and Rea Road, saying it would exacerbate flooding issues, increase traffic, disrupt the character of surrounding areas and pose a threat to two nesting American bald eagles who live in the area.
City staff said they do not recommend the petition in its current form and will work through issues and concerns that have been raised, including addressing traffic improvements and working with the county to connect pedestrian paths on Rea Road, Elm Lane and the Four Mile Creek Greenway with a bridge.
A more slimmed down version ahead? The staff’s opposition probably means that the developer, RK Investments, will have to reduce the number of apartments in the proposal to have a shot at winning approval. Of the 640 units, 500 are proposed as apartments. The current proposal is a slimmed-down version of the developer’s previous plan, which was to build 1,100 units with six-story buildings.
Dozens of residents who oppose the development wore bright green T-shirts Monday that said “No! To Rezoning” with a silhouette of an eagle. They held up signs with the same message, and one resident wore a hat topped with a stuffed eagle. Some rode to the Mecklenburg County Government Center on one of two tour buses organized by Kim Hombs of local environmental nonprofit Trees, Bees & All of These.
A representative for the project’s developer shared plans with city council members to address concerns over the anticipated increase in traffic, including the addition of turn lanes and traffic light signals, as well as plans for tree-save areas within the development.
He also noted that the bald eagles’ nest does not fall within the minimum 660 feet from the development that’s required by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Dan Paulson, a resident who lives off Elm Lane, asked the city to make infrastructure improvements in advance of the project to fix traffic congestion and flooding issues that already exist around the site.
“We need to break the cycle of pushing for more development as possible [and] then worry about other things later,” Paulson said.
One resident presented the city council with a hard copy of a petition with nearly 20,000 signatures of people who oppose the project.
City Councilmen Ed Driggs, who represents most of south Charlotte in District 6, said he opposes the proposal, and that he has “made it very clear that I will not support this petition tonight in its current form,” Driggs said as the crowd cheered. “The staff doesn’t support it either. We’ve got work to do.”
Driggs told residents that as long as they remain a united front in opposition to the plan, the rezoning request will not be approved as it is. However, Driggs warned the crowd that if the current rezoning request is denied, one that neighbors might deem even more troublesome could take its place in the future.
“I just am concerned that when we look at what can happen if [the petition] is withdrawn, we might end up in a position that’s worse than this,” Driggs said to crowd boos.
“I wish there was a way to preserve this as the habitat that it is,” Driggs said. He said the county was not interested in purchasing the property for a park or green space.
Councilmember Victoria Watlington challenged city staff to figure out how to improve the process of evaluating rezoning requests.
“I think we’ve got a policy gap,” Watlington said. “We need to raise our standard.”
Councilmember Tariq Bokhari complimented Driggs on his efforts to represent his constituents and also called out the Unified Development Ordinance that went into effect last year, which earned him applause from the crowd.
“We spent over two years working on, debating, putting out this Unified Development Ordinance, into the community, which is essentially pouring rocket fuel onto growth,” Bokhari said. “That is absolutely unacceptable.”
Another big south Charlotte rezoning in Rea Farms
A proposal to build apartments and a new middle school in the Rea Farms area in south Charlotte was also on the agenda Monday night.
“It’s my big night tonight,” Driggs joked. The petition site is also in District 6.
The city heard from petitioner Childress Klein and Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, which plans for a new middle school and 917 homes on 125 acres along the east side of Tom Short Road.
The middle school, which was included in the 2023 CMS school bond referendum, is designed to relieve overcrowding at J.M. Robinson Middle School and accommodate up to 1,200 students. If approved, the school would open in August 2026.
Some residents are concerned that the development will exacerbate flooding issues in the area and that the infrastructure will not be able to support the additional traffic and residents. Marian Black, a neighbor who has been leading efforts against the project, compiled 1-inch binders of information about the site and the proposed development’s impact on the area to present to city staff and council members Monday.
Glen Danziger, a resident who lives across from the rezoning site, told council members that the project would be “an undue burden on the community.” He commented on the “inappropriate nature” of the development and that it would add 65,000 new vehicle trips per day to the area.
City staff has recommended that council members approve the petition.
Driggs noted that the rezoning site is 125 acres, and he commended the developers for not trying to build even more housing units on the site.
Councilmember Dimple Ajmera called for fewer housing units to preserve the neighborhood’s character, and Mayfield asked the developer if the new school’s teachers would be able to afford to live in the homes.
The city council is expected to vote on both rezoning petitions later this spring.
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