Visual ties to the past for the new Harris Teeter store in Plaza Midwood

The cropped photo at the top by the legendary Jeep Hunter shows the old Plaza movie theater on Central Avenue. It stood next to the First Union bank, now Wachovia, and in its place is a parking lot.

The next image is part of an architect’s rendering of the primary sign at the new Harris Teeter at Central Avenue and the Plaza.

The old photo is likely from about 1986. By that time, the theater was showing second-run movies at cheap prices, aimed at kids during the day and older audiences, let’s say, in the evenings. The strategy didn’t work too well.

Architects for the new Harris Teeter grocery store have used the similar marquee styling, and the main sign at the Teeter is one of the details that requires a rezoning exemption from pedestrian overlay classification. Art deco curving details are also part of the store’s exterior design, emphasizing the sometimes-hidden deco details of Plaza Midwood.

At a neighborhood meeting in June, those architects seemed to think the theater was torn down in the 1970s. I’m sharing here just to correct a bit of history and capture the visual details.

The photo comes from the on-site print archives at The Charlotte Observer. The photo is stamped, “Property of Knight Publishing Company.” Jeep Hunter, the photographer, was inducted into the N.C. Hall of Fame for his photojournalism in 2004. His work spans 60 years, and he is a two-time recipient of the prestigious "Southern Photographer of the Year” award, among others.

I believe much of his work is held by the University of North Carolina, and some is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Baltimore Museum of Art.

The uncropped old photo is here too.

(Intent is to further work on neighborhood design and to preserve some history. If anyone would like me to unpublish Jeep’s photo, please let me know.)

More background on the planned new Harris Teeter grocery store.

Harris Teeter Store No. 1 in Plaza Midwood: Details of the makeover

Architects for the makeover of the Harris Teeter at 1704 Central Avenue met Tuesday with a small group of neighbors at Green Memorial Baptist Church

The meeting was one of several community outreach efforts by Harris Teeter as the grocery chain seeks a rezoning of the store property at The Plaza and Central Avenue. The area has a pedestrian overlay zoning classification, and Harris Teeter seeks exemptions from some of those rules.

The store is the first Harris Teeter in Charlotte, opening in 1951 after the Harris Food Store moved from about half a block west, in the heart of old Plaza Midwood. Plans for the new store on the property include a display that tells about the site’s history.

A few random facts from the meeting:

Size: The current store is 28,200 square feet. The new store will be about 51,000 square feet. By comparison, the Cotswold Harris Teeter is 53,000 square feet.

Energy: Inside the store, refrigerated products like butter and cheese will be behind glass doors, rather than in refrigerated tubs, to save energy.

Green roof: The roof the the building will have a large “clear story,” or pop-up area with windows to let in light.
The green roof cover will primarily consist of plants in the sedum family, made up of fleshy, low-growing plants that require little water, withstand heat and sun, and bloom frequently in yellow. The roof will require watering, particularly June through August.
Green roofs help control temperatures in the building and are a bit fire-retardant. The Ritz Hotel in uptown Charlotte has a similar roof.

Coffee: A small coffee shop is planned near the store entrance at the corner of the Plaza and Central Avenue.

Design: The art deco elements of the new store are designed to reflect quite a bit of historical art deco near Plaza Midwood among historical buildings and some that still stand. The store sign will be lit and is one of the elements that requires rezoning approval.

Nearby Teeters: The overlap of customers between the Plaza Midwood Harris Teeter and the “tiny Teeter” at the corner of Providence Road and Queens Road, at 1015 Providence Road, is 36%, said one of the architects who designed the exterior of the Plaza Midwood store. Store leaders are planning to remake the tiny Teeter as well, staggering its renovating with the Plaza Midwood store.

Timing: The expansion will require the removal of some gas tanks at the corner of the Plaza and Central Avenue. Therefore, the earliest that demolition is likely to happen is June 2012, with completion in 2013, but those dates most likely would slide about a year to coordinate with the tiny Teeter’s makeover.

Background on the rezoning request.

Photo: Historic image from Groceteria, edited.

Harris Teeter plans community meeting Tuesday for new Plaza Midwood store

A community meeting about the proposed new Harris Teeter at The Plaza and Central Avenue is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 28, at Green Memorial Baptist Church, 1324 The Plaza.

Harris Teeter has filed a rezoning request for the property to rebuild the existing store as a two-story building with a green roof and parking behind the building.

The public hearing on the rezoning is scheduled for July 18. Based on the city’s rezoning schedule, any site plan revisions would be due July 22, with a zoning committee work session on July 27 and a decision on the rezoning from the Charlotte City Council on Sept. 19.

Demolition is expected in 2012 with an opening in 2013. A Harris Teeter has been at the location for 60 years.
Background here.

Harris Teeter files rezoning application for Central Avenue grocery store

The rezoning application for the Harris Teeter grocery store at The Plaza and Central Avenue has been filed.

Public hearing date is July 18.

The revised site plan (PDF) includes a bike rack near the building, specific space dedicated to a CATS bus pad and specific trees to be preserved.

Oh, and the rooftop seating area faces west, with a likely view of the skyline.

Here's the background.

Update: Eastway police station in Merry Oaks in Charlotte

From neighborhood advocate Nancy Pierce, through the Merry Oaks Google group:

"As most of you may already know, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department has definitely decide to pursue the Merry Oaks sites for their new Eastway Division facility. At the urging of many neighbors, they reconsidered other sites for redevelopment, including Little Saigon (formerly Kate's Skating Rink). According to the City Engineering Department, no other sites are big enough and the Little Saigon site's drainage and other issues would cost an extra million dollars to develop.

"The city is still working out real estate issues, so the rezoning will not be proposed any time soon. It is impossible to predict when, but once the site plan, building design and rezoning details become public, the Merry Oaks Neighborhood Association will mobilize to get neighborhood input. MONA has not taken a stand on the issue. MONA Board members urge everyone to keep an open mind on the matter."

You can sign up for email alerts of rezoning petitions at Charlotte's rezoning site. Be aware that a new state law for government email subscription lists prohibits their use beyond the purpose intended. The law appears to have been signed by the governor on April 28.

Also, check out a Civic By Design forum planned May 10 to talk about how people can work with government and developers to save trees.

Background:
An alternative site?
Update on the proposed Charlotte police station in Merry Oaks

New Plaza Midwood Harris Teeter planned

Plans for a new Harris Teeter store in the heart of Plaza Midwood have been released, with sketches released Tuesday night on the Facebook page of the Plaza Midwood Neighborhood Association.

From the Facebook page:
The proposed new Harris Teeter will replace the current Harris Teeter at 1704 Central Avenue, with a required rezoning and expected decision on the rezoning by September. Demolition is expected in 2012 with an opening in 2013. Plaza Midwood Neighborhood Association will gather comments and concerns. Public meetings will be held, and an information table is expected at the Midwood Maynia event.

Images show a two-story building directly at the corner of the Plaza and Central Avenue, with parking behind the building. Entrances to parking would be from McClintock Road, Central Avenue and Nandina Street.

Also, the images show a partial green roof for the building.

From the images provided, here are some estimated numbers. It's early in the process (and the image details get fuzzy):
Parking spaces: 143 spaces, with 14 on-street spaces
Requested tree save: 22.5 percent based on square footage, including green roof
Grocery store size: about 45,000 square feet.

That size would make the store slightly larger than a proposed new two-story Harris Teeter at the corner of Providence Road and Queens Road in Myers Park, at 42,000 square feet. The rezoning application for that Harris Teeter at 1015 Providence Road was filed in May.

The location at The Plaza dates to 1951.

Background and further reading:

What's in Store, from the Observer, about the Myers Park store

The rezoning petition for the Myers Park store

Charlotte’s expanding Hispanic population: It’s about more than taco trucks

About 25 people gathered in a circle in a meeting room Saturday at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church on Central Avenue in Charlotte.

Some wore cowboy boots and hats; others wore purple tights and hair. All cheered icons from the past, like César Chávez and Martin Luther King Jr.

They passed out papers that outlined 18 bills in the N.C. General Assembly that affect undocumented people and the businesses or educational institutions that work with them.

The meeting’s primary goal was to spread the word about the legislation and to support United 4 The Dream, a youth group connected with the Latin American Coalition.

Franco Ordonez wrote in The Charlotte Observer on April 1 about the youth group’s activities to mark the birth of Chávez.

The Saturday group plans another meeting from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on April 9, in Concord, at the Hispanic Learning Center 418 Kerr St., according to the Mi Gente newspaper.

While the St. Andrews group was relatively small, the 2010 census numbers show the growing strength of Hispanic residents in Charlotte and in North Carolina. Their economic strength can’t be ignored.

During the boom years in Charlotte, neighbors in places like Merry Oaks often dealt with houses in which it seemed six, eight, or 10 Hispanic construction workers lived, working to build the new towers in uptown or the split levels in the suburbs. That boom effect was national in scope, according to the New York Times.

Now, in the bust years, the Hispanic people that remain have small businesses and children in tow. They’re looking for safe schools and access to higher education, and some are moving to the suburbs when they can. They have growing economic strength, and perhaps soon, political strength.

And in Charlotte, their message is spreading, with an online campaign to loosen zoning restrictions that target taco trucks. An online petition, “Carne Asada is not a crime,” has gathered 272 signatures.

Hector Vaca, of Action NC, is one of the organizers of Saturday’s meeting. He also said he started the taco truck petition.

But Saturday’s meeting showed that this goes beyond just taco trucks.

One bill discussed in Saturday’s circle was "The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act,” or HB 343.

It rolls in several provisions that require the use of E-Verify by governments, educational institutions and those who contract with them to verify the immigration status of employees.

It prohibits any undocumented person from taking a class at a community college or in any part of the University of North Carolina system.

It places barriers for anyone doing business with undocumented people, or educating them beyond high school.

So this time, it’s about much more than taco trucks, and about much more than just Charlotte.

About the map:

This slice of a census map from the New York Times shows Charlotte’s Census Tract 12, which includes the Merry Oaks neighborhood.

Green dots stand for white residents; blue dots represent black residents, orange dots stand for Hispanic residents and red dots stand for Asians.

On a micro-scale, the locations of dots are approximate.

Tracts directly to the east and southeast show greater percentages of Hispanic residents. One area near Arrowood Boulevard and Interstate 85, Tract 3804, shows a population that is 59% Hispanic.

An alternative site for the Eastway police division?

At least one person has suggested the site of the old Kate's Skating Rink as an alternative for a police station for the Charlotte Eastway division. The site already has an existing building and a large, cleared parking lot with no trees.

In some ways, it fits the definition of "greyfields." Some neighbors have also suggested using cleared land at the site of the old Morningside Apartments along Commonwealth Avenue, but police have said they want locations that are on major roadways.

The image here shows a quick aerial of the site, roughly measured out to match the boundaries indicated at Mecklenburg County's Polaris real estate site. The land measures just over 2 acres, and the tax value is listed at $1,270,500 as of 2007.

The site is behind the House of Pizza on Central Avenue, and would require additional land acquisition nearby to add up to the 3 acres the police department seeks. For comparison, the city bought the site of the new Providence police station on Wendover Road in 2009 for $1.4 million, according to South Charlotte News (part of The Charlotte Observer).

Related: Some residents have created a Facebook group, "Save Central Avenue from CMPD Land Grab." It has 73 "likes" at the moment.

Update on the proposed Eastway division police station in Merry Oaks in Charlotte

Property on Central Avenue at Merry Oaks Road is being considered as a site for a police station for the Eastway division of the Charlotte Mecklenburg police department.
The department is aiming to build visible new stations and parking lots for divisions. Work has begun on a new building for the Providence division, on Wendover Road next to the Grier Heights community, and city council member Andy Dulin shared his opinion and a photo on Twitter recently that showed the work on the lot.



Without photos of the land before clearing began, it’s hard to gauge the cost of green space and trees.

So here are a few photos of the properties under consideration at 3517 Central Ave., 3507 Central Ave. and 3501 Central Ave. No rezoning request has been filed yet, but city officials expect to file in March with public hearing and a decision this spring and summer.

(Top photo: two lovely willow oaks at 3507 Central Avenue, likely outside any street buffer zone for the proposed police station. Next photo: Overall street scene, including oaks at Woodmere Condominiums, which are not affected by the proposal. Final photo: 3517 Central Ave., showing the old Phifer house.)

Merry Oaks and surrounding neighborhoods have lost tree cover in recent years because of development at the intersection of Briar Creek Road and Central Avenue, just a block or so away from the proposed police station. Photos and posts about that loss are in background links at this post.




Background:
Map and details from Merry Oaks neighborhood meeting, Feb. 17
More photos about the Eastway police station proposal on Flickr.
Photos from 3223 Central Avenue and the loss of trees during the development of a nursing home.
Photos from The Vyne, a condo development at Briar Creek and Central Avenue that stalled after the building of one building and the removal of trees.

Remember the goal when talking about rezoning and Ballantyne low-income housing

Ballantyne residents are fighting a rezoning request that could bring low-income housing to their Charlotte neighborhood. A meeting with the developer of the property at Providence Road West and Johnston Road got quite heated on Feb. 22. A hearing on the rezoning petition goes before the Charlotte City Council on March 18.

You can read or watch plenty more about issue elsewhere with links below. While the petition likely has quite a few opponents that fall into the not-in-my-back-yard camp, I suspect other issues are relevant as well. The chart above illustrates the tax-credit method that would help finance the Charlotte low-income housing project. Suspicion is high these days when it comes to complicated financing methods, and plenty of housing around the city remains vacant, for sale or for rent.

So consider this a jumping-off point to explore the issue of affordable housing more deeply if you wish. This Ballantyne housing project is not Section 8 housing, which has been an issue for the east side of Charlotte.

Remember January 2008, when a man was killed near low-income apartments not too far from Merry Oaks. That incident spurred talks and memos about safety at the complex. Since then, the apartments have been quiet, safe and well-maintained. Police, neighbors and complex management all deserve credit.

And that's the goal: providing safe, affordable housing for those who need it, and keeping surrounding neighborhoods safe as well.

Nimbyism isn't the answer. Affordable housing has to go somewhere. But it's wise to scrutinize how we spend tax money and how we support people in low-income housing.


References:

Video stream from Ballantyne Scoop from the Feb. 22 meeting.
Charlotte Observer story about the Feb. 22 meeting.
Rezoning petition 2010-021.
The law and the rezoning from The Charlotte Business Journal.
Developers' backgrounds from The Charlotte Business Journal (might require subscription).
Other affordable housing developments from The Charlotte Business Journal.
Wikipedia on the tax credit.
State information about the tax credit.

Will Charlotte rezoning decision allow CATS bus facility to expand into greenway?

City council members will meet Monday to consider several rezoning requests, including one that could allow expansion of CATS bus facilities into land once set aside for park and greenway space near uptown Charlotte.

No hearings affecting land immediately near Merry Oaks are planned for this month.

The rezoning decision for the CATS expansion could allow an office building and garage to be built on open space in Alexander Park, near Seigle Point, which is part of the corridor for the Sugar Creek Greenway. The area is near what was once the Piedmont Courts public housing complex.

The park and sports facilities at the location were planned through a partnership of Trinity Episcopal School, the Charlotte Housing Authority, Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation and the City of Charlotte. Ground was broken on the plan last fall.

Plans for the park, with recreational facilities for Trinity and the community, included six tennis courts, followed by two half-court basketball courts, a high-school regulation soccer field, picnic pavilion, playground and walking trails.

The rezoning request, Case No. 2009-039, affects 3.65 acres owned by the city at 910 N. Alexander St. next to the existing bus garage. CATS wants to build offices, a parking deck and a new maintenance facility there.

The zoning meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the council’s meeting chamber and includes a public hearing on other zoning cases, including these two center-city petitions:
Roger and Perina Stewart seek a site plan amendment for .68 acres at the north intersection of Belmont Avenue and Allen Street (Petition No. 2010-013);
St. Paul Baptist Church seeks a zoning change for 6.92 acres within Harrill Street, East 16th Street, Pegram Street and East 19th Street from residential to mixed-use (Petition No. 2010-009).

Background:
Charlotte Business Journal in June on the CATS rezoning.
Trinity Episcopal School on the Alexander Park groundbreaking.
Charlotte Magazine on Trinity’s connections to the Sugar Creek Greenway.
The CATS rezoning request.
City rezoning website.

Schools, flooding and an Elizabeth rezoning

From Under the Water Tower comes a heads up on a rezoning in the Elizabeth neighborhood. Deadline is Wednesday, Sept. 2, to email comments to neighborhood organizers about the rezoning request along Seventh Street. The public hearing is Sept. 21.

The developer is seeking rezoning from R-22 to MUDD (mixed use development) to build up to 390 residential units along Weddington Avenue and Seventh Street, near the historic Palmer Building on Firefighter Place and near Lupie's Cafe.

The neighborhood had a meeting seeking comments about the rezoning on Aug. 27 and is sharing those comments with the developer, Winter Elizabeth of Atlanta, according to the Elizabeth Community Association. You can see some site-plan details at the neighborhood site.


The rezoning doesn't directly affect Merry Oaks, but it raises a couple of thoughts with broader community impact:
1. The comments in a PDF from Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools officials at the Rezoning.org site note that "adequacy of existing school capacity in this area is a significant problem." The officials estimate the development, when completed, could add 118 students to Eastover Elementary School, 80 students to Alexander Graham Middle School and 93 students to Myers Park High School. Those kinds of numbers are important to keep in mind when considering redrawing school boundaries: There is talk of moving some people out of the feeder zone for Myers Park High to East Mecklenburg High. Numbers like these might add more weight to that concept. The numbers also highlight how school quality affects development and real estate. If school performance for the Garinger High School district were stronger, would demand for development and housing in that district in east-central Charlotte be stronger? Would growth and development be more evenly spaced across the county?


2. The comments in a PDF from stormwater services at the rezoning site appear to be minimal. Given the density proposed in this development under MUDD zoning, and given its proximity to Briar Creek, it seems deep consideration should be given to the effects of flood zones downstream. In the long run, that consideration could save Mecklenburg County money and save homeowners the hassle of unexpected flooding. The county has spent millions buying homes in floodplains along Briar Creek in recent years. Should dense MUDD zoning get further examination? Can dense urban design have features that absorb and slow stormwater runoff to avoid urban flooding?

Further links:
Background from the Charlotte Business Journal in 2008.
Planning documents for growth in "Centers, Corridors and Wedges" from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department.
FEMA floodplain maps.

Image credits: Google maps (top) and FEMA maps (middle).

Eastside Charlotte mayoral forum

More than 75 people showed up for a Charlotte mayoral candidates' forum Tuesday night at Windsor Park Elementary School to hear John Lassiter and Anthony Foxx discuss issues near and dear to the east side of Charlotte.

The forum was sponsored by Charlotte East Political Action Committee and was set up as a moderated Q&A with the candidates, with time for questions from the audience.
Foxx, a Democrat, and Lassiter, a Republican, are both at-large city council members and the leading candidates for Charlotte mayor. The winner will replace Mayor Pat McCrory, a Republican, who is the longest-serving mayor in Charlotte history, according to Wikipedia.

Fred Clasen-Kelly did a fine job of reporting the event at The Charlotte Observer, (temporary link) focusing on low-income housing questions.

The following are raw notes from the meeting. My background is as an editor and designer, so I can't do as fine of a job as Fred, but I offer these notes up to flesh out areas that Fred couldn't address because of time or space constraints. If there's anything I left out or portrayed wrongly, let me know in comments.

In addition, CLTBlog plans a streaming video online town hall with Foxx at 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 17. Anyone can submit and vote on questions for that event by going to Google Moderator here.

The key topics (often overlapping) from Tuesday night:

Fixing Eastland Mall
Both candidates noted that zoning and overbuilding hurt the Eastland Mall and Albemarle Road areas. Both noted that the tough economy is making a fix difficult.
Lassiter: Plans for the mall land will succeed if zoning is mixed use. When the economy rebounds, the area will see folks coming in and buying up these properties. The city planning department will be key in making the rebound a success.
Foxx: Fixing Eastland will involve a number of efforts, including police, infrastructure and rebuilding trust between the neighborhoods and the city. "We cannot leave East Charlotte out."
One questioner pushed for housing on the property at a specific price point: $200,000 or so, not $110,000 to $150,000. Neither candidate promised such a price point in future zoning for the property. Lassiter noted that the east side faces a challenge because existing housing stock falls into a narrow price area, with no ability for residents to move up but stay within the area. Lassiter also said redevelopment of the 90-acre Eastland Mall site would not include subsidized housing.
Another questioner expressed concerns that existing city investment in a bus transit station at the mall site could impede future plans.
Foxx: "There have been alot of false starts." "I'm sorry that folks have felt the city hasn't been paying attention." "We need to rebuild that connection between the city of Charlotte and the east side."

Working for better public transit on the east side of Charlotte
Both candidates noted that the Independence Boulevard widening was a state project that failed to take local residents and business needs into consideration.
Foxx: "As mayor, I'd commit to taking a long hard look at rapid transit on Independence Boulevard." He also noted that he's pushing for a way that the city can move ahead with the trolley line from Beatties Ford Road all the way to Eastland Mall.
Lassiter: "The challenge of getting light rail money is meeting federal rules." He's also working for the trolley, trying to find a way to use mostly local money to fund the project.


Fixing Independence Boulevard
Foxx: Wants new money to pay for the finishing of I-485, preserving existing state money to finish Independence Boulevard. "The N.C. DOT has not historically been a good partner with us" for helping to support the businesses that depended on Independence Boulevard.
Lassiter: Independence Boulevard needs to be the back door for the neighborhoods, not the front door. "I think we can all agree that the state has made a mess of Independence Boulevard."

Maintaining safety and fighting crime
Both candidates acknowledge the strong work of the Charlotte police department (which had at least five representatives at the meeting) and that crime had gone down in the Eastway division. Both noted that the city would find responsible ways to pay for more police officers that would not raise taxes. Both pointed to fiscal responsibility from the city, contrasting it with financial difficulties the county faces.
Foxx: Went to Washington, D.C., on his own dime to talk with U.S. Senator Kay Hagan, D-N.C., and U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C., about federal support for fighting crime. He has also talked with the state Administrative Office of the Courts, and is working in the community at West Charlotte High School, his alma mater, to help show young people different, positive paths.
Lassiter: "We have to get chronic offenders off the streets." Lassiter noted he served on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board for many years, working to support young people and schools.


Low-income housing
Foxx: Noted a story by Fred Clasen-Kelly in The Charlotte Observer in 2006 that said roughly four of every five Section 8 residents are clustered in 10 ZIP codes in the Charlotte area. "I want to see this city deal with affordable housing in a real way," he said. He mentioned an "incentivized inclusi0onary zoning" fix. If he were mayor, he would establish a task force to handle low-income housing questions.
Lassiter: "I believe the east side of Charlotte has given enough." However, he emphasized a market-based approach to handling housing price points.

Code enforcement
Eastside residents have wrestled with the problem of code enforcement people working day hours Monday through Friday, with no one to verify and follow up code violations such as parking cars and trucks on lawns on weekends and evenings. Lassiter addressed the issue, saying the city was looking at innovative solutions such as split shifts for code enforcement workers. Foxx agreed: "We've got to have weekend code enforcement," he said, and he noted that the city workers must deal with three computer systems to input and track data about violations, with no easy computer interaction with police computers. He said the city needed to increase our investment in technology to address the challenge.


Small-area plans
Susan Lindsay, a long-time neighborhood activist for the east side of Charlotte, questioned why the city had not gone forward with small-area plans for the Milton Road-Plaza area and the Eastway-Plaza areas. Both candidates said they would look into that, with Lassiter noting that the planning staff should have some excess capacity at the moment because of a lack of rezoning cases.

Eastsiders turn out for Independence

About 30 people turned out Thursday to rally for redevelopment, light rail and strong planning for Independence Boulevard, an Eastside corridor lined by abandoned strip malls and big boxes after road widening.

Mayoral candidate and city councilman John Lassiter plus several television stations turned out as well.

Lassiter spoke with residents about the complicated mix of planning needed for transportation and the luring of business back to the corridor. His main point: The neighborhoods that line the road will likely turn their backs to the road over time as it continues to develop into a high-speed road to deliver commuters into Charlotte.

However, some businesses are planning to return to the area. WSOC reported Thursday that Walmart confirms a new store will be built on Independence Boulevard near Albemarle Road. The store could open in the fall of 2010.

More background:
Eastside Political Action Committee.
Independence Area Plan, from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department.
Map, history and links on Underoak.

Rally for Independence Boulevard

The Eastside Political Action Committee is leading a rally from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 9, for the Independence Boulevard corridor.

The group has been working for more than a year to support redevelopment of the Independence Boulevard corridor: its neighborhoods, businesses and landowner rights.

Independence Boulevard from Eastway Boulevard to Sharon Amity Road was once a thriving retail corridor; many businesses moved or closed up shop when the road was widened five years ago and access was limited.

In March, Charlotte's Economic Development and Planning Committee proposed a change in land-use plans along the corridor that area residents say will make it harder for businesses to redevelop the area.

Details on the rally, from the Eastside political action committee:
How: Show up and bring a sign. (There will be signs provided if you don't have one).
Where: Independence Boulevard, both sides: The sidewalk of Coliseum Shopping Center just east of the Eastway/Wendover bridge, and between Norland Road and Woodland Drive (the former Shoney's parking lot).
Why:
- Support redevelopment of Independence Blvd.
- Support reduction of a 175-foot transitional setback
- Advocate for more information or funding for buyouts of undevelopable property.
- Advocate for an Eastside PAC meeting with the NC Department of Transportation and Charlotte Department of Transportation, as promised at the last rally for Independence a year ago
- Advocate for the support of businesses along the next part of the corridor widening, from Sharon Amity Road to Conference Drive.
- Push for light rail in the Independence Boulevard corridor.

Background links courtesy of the Eastside PAC:
WSOC story, March 2009.
WBTV story, March 2009.
History of the building of Independence Boulevard from historian Dan Morrill
Eastside PAC forum.

Top image from Google Maps. Bottom image from the Charlotte Economic Development and Planning Committee, looking west toward the Independence interchange with Wendover Road/Eastway Drive.

Central Avenue updates

Check out "The Naked City" for a post about zoning and urban design. You'll have scroll down for the moment to "The Central Avenue Challenge." Direct hyperlinks don't seem to work as The Charlotte Observer blogs prepare for a site redesign.

And also check out CLT Blog for a wrapup of the Central Avenue International Corridor work through the Knight Creative Community Initiative. The post has links worth bookmarking to a new creative community Google group as well as news about Garinger High School's involvement in planning improvements along Central Avenue.

Conventry Woodstock on Saturday

The Coventry Woods neighborhood puts on Coventry Woodstock from 3:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Steamer's on Independence Boulevard, with music by the alternative Matthews group Lucky Five and Sacha Barlow, assistant principal violist of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.
The event is to raise money for a lawsuit against a developer. Background here.

Charlotte East meets tonight

Charlotte East Community Partners meets tonight in Citiside.

Edited details directly from an email from President Darrell Bonapart:

This is a reminder of the meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 18th at the Citiside Community Clubhouse (6:30pm - 8:00pm) on Plaza Walk Road. The community is located behind the Bi-Lo grocery store shopping center which is at the corner of Eastway Drive and The Plaza Road. Entrance to the community is right next to the Bi-Lo Shopping Center by way of The Plaza Road. You would be turning onto Plaza Walk Rd which dead ends directly to the front door of the Community Clubhouse. Extremely important information will be shared regarding issues affecting our area. If you or your community or business is ready to join the Charlotte East Community Partners, please bring your dues payment with you to the meeting. For individuals, the amount is $10 and it is $25 for Neighborhood Associations and Businesses. We need you all to become financial members to assist us in our efforts to protect our communities and businesses. A report will be provided to financial members at our April meeting. All communities and businesses between Monroe Road and The Plaza Road are with whom we want to establish a partnership.


Agenda is as follows:

Introduction of Communities
Introduction of Political Candidates
Park and Rec Presentation
Independence Blvd Rally Update
Coventry Woods Lawsuit update
Candidate Forums Hosted by CECP and EPAC
Membership Campaign
Tracking Zoning Permits along with issue of Back Zoning to bring properties up to date.
Annual Black Tie Gala
Coalition of Communities Project

Darrell Bonapart
President, Charlotte East Community Partners
704-890-2771 (cell)
dbonapart218@yahoo.com

Coventry Woods does take prisoners

An email from a friend in the Eastside neighborhood of Coventry Woods, which is continuing its zoning battle against the developers of Independence Woods:

"There is talk in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, that the Coventry Woods Neighborhood Association 'does not take prisoners.'
... I can assure you that this is incorrect.
We eat them."

Attached to the email is a copy of a court action filed by the neighborhood association on March 11 against the City of Charlotte, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission and Independence Capital Realty LLC.

The action seeks to "determine the validity of the City of Charlotte's subdivision ordinance appeal process, and the validity of the preliminary plat approval for Independence Woods subdivision."

The action also seeks a declaration that the subdivision ordinance unlawful and that the preliminary plan approval for Independence Woods is invalid. It also seeks a preliminary injunction prohibiting Independence Woods from further construction, and demands a jury trial.

Background:
Here.
And here.

Coventry Woods vs. Zoning Board

Zoning update in their own words from the Coventry Woods Neighborhood Association. This is a fairly close-in eastside neighborhood that works together to try to preserve their established neighborhood. The post is long, and edited somewhat, but it's a complicated issue that's important to a small group of people. It's also about trying to save trees.

"After an all morning session Tuesday, Jan. 29, the Zoning Board of Adjustments voted late that afternoon on one of two appeals placed before it by the Coventry Woods Neighborhood Association, and voted to examine the second appeal in the near future.

The ZBA voted 4-to-1 against the CWNA's contention that notification should have been given property owners adjacent to the Independence Woods subdevelopment project.

Independence Woods received preliminary subdivision approval in December 2006; notice of project approval was posted to the City-County's Charmeck web site page close to a month later, long after the 10-day window for appeal had expired.

ZBA member Chet Rabon, an attorney, said the CWNA is in a "classic 'Catch-22' situation" and that the Planning staff's lack of formal notification to the Coventry Woods and Cedars East neighborhoods created a due-process issue -- "a situation fundamentally unfair to Coventry Woods."

The remaining ZBA members said that Zoning Ordinances specify notification of adjacent property owners only in code-specified instances, an argument put forward by the City Attorney's office; or that, simply, the stated 10-day deadline passed.

The remaining appeal before the ZBA concerns the applicability of the tree-save ordinance, which gives a "density bonus" to developers who set aside a percentage of land for saving existing tree canopy.

The East Charlotte tract in question, between Independence Boulevard and Amity Place, adjoining the Coventry Woods and Cedars East neighborhoods, is zoned R-4: It calls for four lots per acre.

Because of the tree-save proviso and other bonuses, the Planning department's subdivision staff gave developer Jerry Rigsby the go-ahead to develop the 15.8 acres with lots that are the equivalent of 10 per acre; plus the OK to build houses with only 6 feet between them. The increase in density from standard R-4 exceeds 20 percent.

Most of the tract has been clear-cut and graded; the long-established tree canopy there has been bulldozed; the net result of the tree-save and other bonuses has been to allow a de facto rezoning bereft of a formal rezoning and the public input a formal rezoning would require.

Through its attorney, Kenneth Davies of Davies & Grist, the CWNA will pursue the appropriateness of the tree-save bonuses given Independence Woods at an upcoming ZBA session.

In the meantime, the CWNA will pursue various appellate options.

....The Mayor and City Council have pledged to focus attention on maintaining and improving life in East Charlotte. Meanwhile, the bottom has fallen out of the sub-prime housing market, and the government, media and public is decrying the proliferation of poor-quality subdivisions.

But the city Planning staff nonetheless is defending its approval of Independence Woods, a low-quality, in-fill project... ."