******************** REZONING UPDATE

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There will be an Open House Forum on Monday night to discuss the affordable housing rezoning issue for the Ballantyne area. The meeting will be held at 4:30pm at the government center and the public is invited to attend. This will be the first opportunity for Ballantyne residents [...]]]>

There will be an Open House Forum on Monday night to discuss the affordable housing rezoning issue for the Ballantyne area. The meeting will be held at 4:30pm at the government center and the public is invited to attend. This will be the first opportunity for Ballantyne residents to voice their opinions on the debate.

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Ballantyne, NC – Ballantyne Holdings has requested that the 7 acre property located at the intersection of Highway 521 and Providence Road West be rezoned for multi-unit housing that would be considered affordable housing. The public meeting is scheduled for March 15 at the Government Center in Uptown Charlotte. This development is set to have 110 housing units with bank and teller pads.

According to the CharMeck zoning webpage the application was made on December 28, 2009. Various city departments have not all weighed in on the impact this would have on Ballantyne. According to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools comments on this application, the development would put a potential strain on the schools serving this development. It anticipates the addition of new students to Ballantyne Elementary, Community House Middle and Ardrey Kell High School could cause crowding issues that would require the addition of mobile classrooms with a cost of approximately $350,000.

Click here to view and download site plan.

“We have submitted a rezoning petition to allow for 110 class A apartments. Their design will be indistinguishable from market-rate housing. 70% of the units will be affordable to those making 60% of AMI and 30% will be affordable to those making 30% of AMI. This project would provide an opportunity for some of Ballantyne’s more modest income workers and their families to live closer to their jobs.

Stuart Proffitt – Republic Development Group

CMS comments to the petition were as follows “Adequacy of existing school capacity in this area is a significant problem. We are particularly concerned about rezoning cases where school utilization exceeds 100% since the proposed development will exacerbate this situation. Approval of this petition will increase overcrowding and/or reliance upon mobile classrooms at the schools.”

The property fronts the southwest corner of the intersection and currently is not part of the public transportation network. Other issues surrounding the project are issues concerning the high traffic volume that passes through this intersection on a daily basis, which could potentially make it “pedestrian unfriendly”.

“We are still reviewing the request and working to ensure as much information as possible is available to area residents before the Council’s decision which is scheduled for April 19″.

Warren Cooksey – Charlotte City Councilman

caroline@ballantynescoop.com

2010 Ballantyne Scoop The Scoop Network

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