National builder’s 99 Lake Norman rental homes recommended by Planning Board
The Mooresville Planning Board voted 8-to-1 Tuesday night to recommend a national builder’s 99 planned Lake Norman-area rental homes to the town’s Board of Commissioners.
Citing overburdened roads, commissioners in November unanimously rejected a plan by American Homes 4 Rent for up to 111 rental homes in its proposed 86-acre Brentwood Phase 5 development on Black Angus Lane. That’s off Faith Road, just east of Mount Mourne near the lake.
“I go back to traffic in that area,” commissioner Eddie Karriker said before making the motion to deny the rezoning. Newly-elected commissioner Dana Tucker seconded the motion.
“Namely, to put 111 homes in there, and it won’t impact traffic?” Karriker said.
The developer later trimmed the number of homes to 99 and agreed that no building permits will be issued until American Homes 4 Rent pays for and installs a traffic light at nearby Faith and Shearer roads. Lots of development has sprung up near the intersection south of downtown Mooresville and east of the lake.
The builder also removed its original plan to send traffic into a neighboring development and will donate two wells to the neighboring English Hills subdivision.
“I think we can agree this is a better project,” commissioner Eddie Dingler, who represents the area where the homes would be built, told fellow commissioners in March. “It does work. This is a better project.”
By a 5-to-1 vote in March, commissioners agreed to send the rezoning request for revised plan through the approval process, which led to Tuesday night’s Planning Board vote. The Board of Commissioner is scheduled to consider the request at its June 1 meeting.
Developer cites improvements
At previous public meetings and again on Tuesday, James Martin, AMH regional vice president, cited the quality of AMH homes and amenities planned for the development. They include a greenway with a pedestrian bridge over a creek, a pocket park, a dog park, trails and vegetative buffers well beyond town requirements.
AMH homes include fenced yards, granite and quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, luxury vinyl plank flooring and attached two- and three-car garages, according to the AMH website.
Amenities also include pools, fitness centers and playgrounds, the website shows.
Tuesday night, a neighbor spoke in favor of the development and none against.
Skyline Meadows
The Planning Board agreed Tuesday night to continue a public hearing at a later date regarding a Charlotte developer’s request to rezone 15 acres in fast-growing southeast Mooresville for a 38-home subdivision.
Michael Barnes, a representative of developer RBM Skyline Investors LLC, requested the continuance after residents urged the board to deny recommending the rezoning for the Skyline Meadows community.
That’s cramming too many homes on limited acreage, especially in an area where traffic is already dangerous because of so many new developments, two neighbors told the board to applause from the Town Hall audience.
“Developers are coming full force to this area, but at what cost?” neighbor Alex Morgan asked the board.
“The safety of our children, the value of our properties and the serenity of our lives” are at risk, he said.
The development would be just north of the intersection of Rocky River and Glenallen roads, where the Curtis Pond subdivision is located. At nearly 500 homes, Curtis Pond is one of the town’s largest residential communities.
Waxhaw resident Romil Chudgar is listed on the N.C. Secretary of State’s website as president of RBM Skyline Investors LLC. Chudgar did not attend Tuesday night’s meeting.
Board members appeared set to recommend denying the rezoning before Barnes requested the continuance.
“I think it’s too dense,” member Laura Temple said, referring to the number of homes per acre. “It’s going to change the nature of the neighborhood.”
Homes would range from 2,400 to 2,600 square feet and start at around $400,000, according to a town summary of an April neighborhood meeting held by the developer.
Neighbors at the meeting said they were concerned, in part, that not enough vegetation was proposed to block the subdivision from their homes and that no traffic impact analysis was conducted, according to the town summary of the meeting. They cited potential runoff from the subdivision and how the project could impact schools.