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Charlotte City Council on Monday deferred a vote on a controversial proposal to build a Walgreens in the Dilworth neighborhood.
The petition by developer Lincoln Harris requires a rezoning. The city’s Planning Commission unanimously endorsed the plan in October and sent it to the city council, which acts as the zoning board.
Lincoln Harris requested the vote be postponed because one council member, David Howard, wasn’t in attendance. Because residents filed a protest petition against the rezoning, the developer needs a supermajority of votes — 9 votes from the 11-member council and the mayor.
The city Department of Transportation said the development at the corner of Kenilworth Avenue and East Morehead Street, which includes an office building and the pharmacy with a drive-through, would generate about 1,540 trips per day. The department determined that is not enough to clog traffic in the historic neighborhood just south of uptown Charlotte.
Dilworth residents have been fighting the proposal for months. Some fear it will increase crime, and object to plans to tear down a Tudor-style apartment building and some homes to make way for commercial development.
The area was already zoned for offices, and the property owner said he planned to tear down the residences and sell the property regardless of the decision on the Walgreens. The buildings are not historic landmarks.
Harrissaid it has made several changes to address concerns, including adding a sitting area with a fountain and benches and a vertical “green wall” with vegetation at the front of the building.
