Lake Norman neighbors pan homebuilder’s plan for 3-story townhomes, cutting down trees
Mooresville commissioners tabled a vote Monday night on a rezoning for a national homebuilder’s proposed 78 townhomes near Lake Norman after neighbors decried the plan.
Mattamy Homes wants to build three-story, 1,800- to 2,300-square-foot townhomes on Langtree Road that would cost at least $500,000 and have two-car garages, according to plans unveiled by the builder Monday night.
Commissioners unanimously agreed to table a decision until their May 19 meeting to give the builder time to revamp its plans, including making the homes two stories, preserving more trees and providing a crosswalk on Langtree.
Commissioners Lisa Qualls and Eddie Dingler said Mattamy’s proposed Regalia at Lake Norman development would otherwise be a bad “transition” from nearby single-family home communities.
The Town Board also tabled votes on annexing the property from Iredell County and extending water and sewer to the development.
Mattamy Homes is North America’s largest privately owned home builder, according to its website. The builder has opened or is near finishing 13 Charlotte-area subdivisions, including in Charlotte, Huntersville, Kannapolis, Mint Hill and Monroe.
In August 2024, the Mooresville Board of Adjustment ordered the builder to include public access to the lake from the 15-acre site.
Mattamy sought an exemption to the town rule that waterfront developments open at least 50% of their shoreline to everyone. The Board of Adjustment turned down Mattamy’s request, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
In October, the Mooresville Planning Board voted 7-to-1 to recommend a rezoning for the development. The recommendation followed Mattamy Homes proposing 3.84 acres of open space, including an overlook along at least 50% of the shoreline, according to the developer’s rezoning application.
The public would have access to the overlook but not to the lake from Regalia, a Mattamy Homes representative told the commissioners Monday night.
Concerns about runoff, habitat loss
Formerly called Cascadia, Regalia at Lake Norman would be located between two other single-family developments, with hotels to the east and the LangTree Lake Norman mixed-use community to the southeast.
Four neighbors told the Planning Board they were concerned about potential runoff onto their properties, the loss of trees and wildlife habitat, and a need for landscape buffers and revegetation of the cleared land.
Five residents spoke against the development Monday night, including a nearby homeowner association president and a woman speaking for four of her neighbors. Two residents spoke in favor of the plan.
“They’re going to be looking down at us,” neighbor Kathleen Warren told the Board of Commissioners about the townhomes proposed on land higher than her subdivision’s. “We will be looking back at alleys, garages, garbage cans. It won’t be pretty.”
Resident Richard Beck said the development proposes no sidewalks along sidewalk-less Langtree Road. “Safety again is out of sight and out of mind,” Beck said, adding that Mattamy Homes also proposes no crosswalk on Langtree.
Neighbors also said they were upset at the proposed tree loss between their homes and Regalia.
Representatives of the builder said buffers and tree replantings are planned. They said the N.C. Department of Transportation discouraged sidewalks where Mattamy Homes proposed them, and they’re willing to try again with the state.
They said they couldn’t immediately commit to reducing the townhomes to two stories and would need to consult with other Mattamy officials.
This story was originally published February 18, 2025 at 5:30 AM.