In this small town, NC residents and developer tussle over how much change is needed
There are a few things that make Weddington residents proud. Good schools. Well-manicured streets. And zoning.
They love their zoning.
For years, the Union County town of about 13,000 has maintained its mostly small-town feel, despite its proximity to Charlotte. The majority of the town is zoned residential while just a fraction is commercial. The grocery store, dry cleaner and bank are consolidated in the town center.
That could soon change as a proposed 80-acre development in the heart of town would bring new homes, retail, restaurants and a park. Many residents who cherish their small-town community say traffic and overcrowded schools are already bad. What would adding a couple hundred more homes and new retail do?
Plus, they say, plenty of amenities are just a few minutes drive away.
The controversy underlines tensions around development playing out across the state, as cities big and small balance new growth while holding on to the character of their hometowns.
Provident Land Services, a developer out of Charlotte, is proposing to build a community of close to 200 homes with a new 600-foot main street lined with restaurants, other retail and possibly office space. The cost of the project was not yet clear.
The project would include an 8.5-acre park, a mile-long walking and biking path and an amphitheater. To move forward, the project needs approval by the town council to rezone the site at Providence and Weddington roads from residential to a conditional, mixed-use zoning district.
The project caught the attention of some longtime residents, who mobilized against it.
They circulated a change.org petition that has garnered over 2,200 signatures, calling for the town to reject the proposal.
A “Save Weddington” Facebook page points out how some of the current town council ran on positions of containing commercial development during their campaigns. A large banner went up on a street corner near the town center, also calling for the project to be voted down.
People in Weddington say the proposal goes beyond just worries over traffic and crowded schools. It threatens the town’s identity as growth continues to explode around Charlotte.
The developer, meanwhile, said he designed the project with residents in mind.
A public hearing is set for Monday at 7 p.m. on the project. The town council is not anticipating a vote, town administrator/clerk Karen Dewey told the Observer in an email.
Touting development
Tom Waters leads Provident Land Services and has been planning the project for 18 months or so. He’s called it Weddington Green.
He got the idea after noticing that the town doesn’t have a park. He also read surveys of Weddington residents from a few years ago that said residents wanted more up-scale restaurants and parks in town.
Despite the pushback his project has received, Waters insists the development will be a benefit to residents. The homes will cater toward empty-nesters looking to downsize but still stay in Weddington. Most homes will go for $950,000 to the low-million-dollar range, he said.
“There’s nothing there for them now,” Waters said.
The main street will have features to calm — or slow down — vehicle traffic and have wide sidewalks and brick pavers for people to cross the street. The development could include a specialty grocery store along with a bakery and wine shop.
There are plans to have a beer garden with outdoor space above a creek that runs through the site.
The community can hold events there like on July 4, Waters said. He also has plans to build food truck stations that provide power to food vendors so they don’t have to run gas motors while cooking.
“It will be a place for all Weddington residents to come,” Waters said.
Weddington already has plenty
Talk to Mark Miller, a Weddington resident who first bought property there in 2003, and no parts of the proposal seem impressive.
Need a park? There’s already two county parks just a few minutes drive away.
Need a grocery store? Well, Weddington is already home to a Harris Teeter. Shops? Restaurants? Residents can drive a few minutes up Providence Road to the Waverly development in south Charlotte. Ballantyne, also home to plenty of shops and restaurants, isn’t much further.
Town hall is in a stately house that dates to the late 19th century, which seems fitting for a place where the median household income is $136,891. And Zillow lists the average home value there as $816,351.
The retired engineer points to how Weddington has already been experiencing growth, despite the town tending to keep most of its land zoned for single family homes, not commercial.
“All the stuff they’re touting is no benefit to Weddington,” Miller said.
Challenging comparisons
The change.org petition he started compares the Weddington Green project to Waverly.
That mixed-use development on Providence Road just south of Interstate 485 encompasses 90 acres. It has at least 30 retail shops across 250,000 square feet of retail and close to 400 apartments.
Waters calls the comparison unfair. His proposal is nowhere near the same amount of density. He said there’s a significant misperception of what his project offers and what it brings to the town.
He laughs when a reporter points out the cover photo to the change.org petition shows the heart of Times Square in New York City.
“It won’t be a Times Square,” Waters said. The project will bring long-term benefits to the site, he said, like certain traffic improvements. “By scale this is a very small main street improvement,” he said.
Miller said he chose the photo of Times Square to show something chaotic, not to compare the sites.
It was to highlight the sentiment of the community, Miller said — residents want Weddington to retain its small-town feel.
This story was originally published March 14, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
