STEELE CREEK NEWS
Rezoning Petition
Would Add Apartments, Townhomes, and Shopping Centers on Brown-Grier
Road
(August 8,
2016) Pulte Home Corp has submitted a rezoning petition to rezone a
127.23 acre site on both sides of Brown-Grier Road from its current
classification of R-3 (up to three residential units per acre) to Neighborhood
Services (commercial) and R-17 MF (CD) (up to 17 units per acre multi-family with
conditions). They plan to build an 80,000 square foot shopping center with
a grocery store on the northeast corner of Steele Creek Road and Brown-Grier
Road, up to 292 multifamily residences (apartments) adjacent to
this, and 550 attached single-family houses (townhomes) on both
sides of Brown-Grier Road. See the areas marked "NS" and "R-17" on
the map below.
The site currently is
a dairy farm that has been run by the Grier Family for several
generations. The current buildings on the property, including the
farmhouse built by John Grier in 1836, will not be preserved.
There will be a
Community Meeting at 6:30 PM on Thursday, August 11 in the
Fellowship Hall at Central Steele Presbyterian Church at 9401 South
Tryon Street, on the corner of S Tryon Street and Westinghouse Blvd
(NOT at Steele Creek Presbyterian on Steele Creek Road).
Representatives of the petitioner will provide maps and other
details of the petition for discussion by area residents and other
property owners. See NOTICE.
See the page on the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department's web site for
Rezoning Petition 2016-120 for more information on the
petition. Use the link to the
Site Plan
to see details of the planned development. The image below shows a
portion of Sheet 4 of the Site Plan.
Following the
Community Meeting, the Charlotte City Council will hold a Public
Hearing for the petition at its monthly Zoning Meeting. The date for the Public
Hearing has not been set but will be on September 19,
October 17, or possibly November 21. The public has an opportunity
to speak for or against the petition at the Public Hearing. The
Zoning Committee of the Planning Commission will meet a
few days after
the Public Hearing to discuss the petition and make a recommendation
to the City Council. The City Council typically votes to either
approve or deny the petition at its next monthly Zoning Meeting. During the
process, action may be deferred to later meetings to resolve
outstanding issues and possibly make changes to the petition.
Note the following about this petition:
The Petition is Inconsistent with the Steele Creek Area Plan
Centers, Corridors &
Wedges is the overarching policy for organizing and guiding
development in Charlotte. The Grier Farm property is in a wedge area. Wedges
primarily contain low density housing, typically up to 4 dwelling
units per acre, with limited moderate density
housing and supporting services. However, the amount, intensity and
type of new development will be determined by the applicable area
plan.
The property
currently is zoned R-3, which allows up to 3 units per acre.
According to the
Steele Creek Area Plan, the area north of
Brown-Grier Road should have up to 6 dwelling units per acre, and
the area south of Brown-Grier Road should have up to 4 dwelling
units per acre. Click on the map to the right or this link to see a
map of
Southwest District Future Land Use.
The proposed rezoning
calls for significantly higher residential density than the area plan allows and is
inconsistent with adjacent neighborhoods. Commercial development is
also inconsistent with the area plan.
This Rezoning Will
Set the Tone for Future Rezoning
Last year the City
Council approved rezoning that allowed 271 apartment units on the
southwest corner of Sandy Porter Road and Brown-Grier Road. This
also was inconsistent with the Steele Creek Area Plan. Previous
rezoning for Whitehall Corporate Park created a tree buffer along
the east side Sandy Porter Road between the intensive development at
Whitehall and lower density residential development west of Sandy
Porter Road. The apartments jumped the buffer and set a precedent
for other high density development to the west.
If the property on
Brown-Grier Road is rezoned for commercial use and for up to 17
residential units per acre, this would set a precedent for adjacent
properties. Specifically:
- A 176 acre parcel to the north (labeled "Future Development"
on the map above) also is zoned R-3. The owners likely will also
request a zoning change to allow similar development to that
requested on the Brown-Grier Road property, possibly including
additional commercial
development along Steele Creek Road.
- The petition requests Neighborhood Services zoning for the
triangular parcel on the southeast corner of Steele Creek Road and
Brown-Grier Road. This property is too small for a neighborhood
center. It is likely that future rezoning requests will be filed to
add commercial rezoning to properties adjacent to this corner so
that a larger center can be built there.
If this rezoning is approved as submitted, it is likely that all
future development in the area will be similar, and few, if any, new single
family neighborhoods will ever be built again.
The Site Plan Does Not Identify Proposed Uses in the
Neighborhood Services Area
According to the notes on the Site Plan, the area proposed to be
zoned NS "may be devoted to any non-residential use or uses allowed
by right or under prescribed conditions in the NS zoning district
(including any combination of such uses), together with any
incidental or accessory uses associated therewith that are permitted
under the Ordinance in the NS zoning district." Also, "The buildings
located [in the area] may have drive-through service lanes/windows
as an accessory use." In other words, any use allowed by NS zoning
is allowed. Typically conditional rezoning petitions include details
about building placement, buffer areas, limitations on number of
drive-throughs, and other conditions.
Public Participation
The public has
several opportunities to participate in the rezoning process. They
may express support or opposition to the rezoning, but they also can
express concerns that the petitioner may address by altering the
rezoning request.
Opportunities include:
- Review the petition. Details are online at
Petition 2016-120.
- Attend the petitioner’s Community Meeting on Thursday, August 11 at Central Steele Creek Presbyterian Church.
- Contact the petitioner or agent to discuss concerns. The agent is John Carmichael
of Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson P.A. at (704) 377-8341.
- Contact staff with questions and suggestions concerning the petition. The staff contact is Claire Lyte-Graham
at (704) 336-3782 or
cgraham@ci.charlotte.nc.us.
- Inform
the
City Council and
the
Zoning Committee of your position.
Steele Creek's District Representative is LaWana Mayfield at
704-336-3435 or
lmayfield@charlottenc.gov.
- Attend and speak at the Public Hearing at the monthly City Council Zoning Meeting. The Public Hearing
for this petition has not yet been scheduled.
- Attend Zoning Committee Work Session and Council decision meeting to hear the discussion.
City Council Meetings can be viewed on the
GOV Channel, available online or on many cable providers.
City Council Meetings also are streamed live at
charmeck.org, and past meetings are archived and available for
viewing.
See also:
A rezoning plan could add 850 homes and more in Steele Creek. Here's
what residents need to know, Lake Wylie Pilot, August 2, 2016
Pulte
planning massive new mixed-use development in Steele Creek,
Charlotte Observer, July 14, 2016
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