STEELE CREEK NEWS
Housing
Partnership Withdraws from Berewick Rezoning
(May 4, 2009)
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership has been removed from
Rezoning petition 2009-037 and will no longer be involved with plans
to build 108 apartments on an 8.3-acre property on Dixie River Road
on the northern edges of Berewick.
Peter Pappas,
President of Pappas Properties, the developer of Berewick, announced
at a community meeting this evening that an amendment was filed with
the Planning Commission today to name Dixie River Land Company (a
Pappas Properties subsidiary) as the petitioner.
Currently, one
section of the property is zoned MX-1 and another section is zoned
CC. Current zoning allows the property to be developed with a
mixture of housing and commercial uses, and it could contain up to
104 units. These would be concentrated towards the southern end of
the property in the part currently zoned CC.
The petition seeks to
rezone the entire 8.3 acre property to R-17MF(CD). The conditions
allow up to 108 units, but they could be more dispersed across the
property. The intent is to locate the housing close to Dixie River
Road and the side road leading into the Berewick Regional Park.
Parking would be towards the center, and the northern corner would
be a tree save area. The specific type of housing is not specified
and could be rental apartments, condominiums, townhouses, or senior
housing. The property would not have any commercial development.
If it is developed
with rental apartments, the complex will pay an assessment for
grounds maintenance along Dixie River Road to keep it consistent
with other areas of Berewick. Residents would not have access to the
Manor House or other Berewick amenities. If it is developed as
condominiums or townhouses for sale, the owners may have an
opportunity to pay a higher assessment and have access to amenities.
The property would
continue to fall under the restrictions of the Lower Lake Wylie
Protection Area.
Area residents had
protested workforce housing being built by the Housing Partnership
through petitions, picketing, and other means. Many at the meeting
called for further restrictions that would prevent rental housing to
be built.
There currently is no
specific plan to develop the property. Nor is there a timetable. Mr.
Pappas stated that he could not predict what housing would be built
there in the future and could not preclude any development
consistent with the zoning. Plans will be market driven. But he said
"We want Berewick to be successful" and pledged not to begin
negotiations with the Housing Partnership or similar entity without
notifying the residents.
The rezoning petition
also has been amended to include a separate parcel adjacent to the
Berewick Town Center. The previous alignment of the new Dixie River
Road placed this parcel on the north side of the planned road, and
it was not included in the plans for the Town Center. The road
alignment has now been straightened, placing this parcel on the
south side of the road. The rezoning would change this area from R-3
to CC and allow it to be included with the commercial development of
the Town Center.
Construction on the
the new Dixie River Road section to Steele Creek Road adjacent to
the Town Center site is expected to begin this summer or fall.
Construction would take approximately 14 months.
The public hearing on
the petition is scheduled for May 18 and may be viewed on
Time-Warner Cable Channel 16. The petition is available on the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission web site here:
Rezoning Petition 2009-037.
To comment on this
story, please go to the
Steele Creek Residents Association Message Board.
|