6 hot rezonings 🔥 to watch in 2024

From Providence Road to Steele Creek, we take a look at upcoming debates over development in Charlotte

The following article appeared in the Jan. 10, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.

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The fate of plans for 3,900+ homes on 6 key sites looms in front of the Charlotte City Council; the latest on where things stand

Site plan for the controversial Gillespie rezoning in Piper Glen (left); map of The Ledger’s selections of the six hottest rezoning sites, with three close to the Providence Road corridor

by Tony Mecia

Nothing stirs the passions of Charlotte homeowners quite like the possibility of apartments down the street — and 2024 is shaping up to be a year of passionate debates over development plans.

As we enter the new year, there are a handful of big decisions looming in Charlotte over developers’ proposals that will determine the fate of a combined 3,900+ housing units around the city. Many of the disagreements hit on the familiar tension between the city’s need to build more housing and residents’ concerns over traffic, school crowding and open space.

We talked with Charlotte development insiders to compile this list of 6 key rezonings that will be coming up in 2024 and that will be blockbusters because of the level of opposition or because of their significance to the city. The City Council is expected to decide on these in the next few months.

Enjoy:

1) 640 homes in Piper Glen

• Location: Piper Glen/Ballantyne; 53 acres at 9621 Elm Lane, between Elm and Rea Road

• Proposal: RK Investments is proposing up to 640 homes on wooded land near the Four Mile Creek Greenway known as the Gillespie property — a mix of 500 apartments and 140 single-family houses and townhomes. The developer initially proposed 1,100 housing units but dropped the number after opposition.

• Opposition: Neighbors have an online petition with more than 18,000 signatures opposing the rezoning. They say they worry about traffic and also cite environmental concerns, pointing out that two eagles live nearby. At a heated community meeting in September, some residents called out City Council member Ed Driggs to his face for taking contributions from developers. (Driggs replied: “I’m a moral person, and I can’t be bought.”)