Charlotte City Council rejects North Tryon Street QuikTrip

The Charlotte City Council voted against a rezoning petition Monday that would have allowed a QuikTrip gas station on North Tryon Street, near Interstate 485.

In an unusual rejection of a rezoning petition, council members sided with city staff, who said the 5-acre site between Salome Church Road and West Pavilion Boulevard should be developed as residential.

The zoning committee had also previously voted 5-2 in favor of rejecting the rezoning, which would have changed the property from single-family homes to neighborhood business.

Council member Kenny Smith, one of two council members to vote in favor of the rezoning, said he thinks the piece of land is difficult to develop.

“I’m not sure what else goes there,” he said.

Council member Claire Fallon said she likes the QuikTrip brand but said she voted against the project because she is concerned about the difficulty of accessing the site from North Tryon Street.

Owner Dee-Dee Harris plans to build offices, retail, restaurants and a hotel on the 19-acre site. The land currently has large craters on the site, the result of an aborted effort to build underground parking 10 years ago.

Harris hopes to have the site built in time for the 2017 PGA Championship, which will be held at Quail Hollow Club nearby.

The rezoning allows for the developer to have two 300-square-foot LED video signs on the building. In addition, the building can have up to 3,000 square feet of wall signage on two sides of the building.

City staff has recommended against approving the rezoning.

This story was originally published December 15, 2014 at 7:30 PM with the headline "Charlotte City Council rejects North Tryon Street QuikTrip."