Huntersville OK’s subdivision plan, nixes plans for school rezoning

The Huntersville Board of Commissioners on Monday unanimously approved Bowman Development’s sketch plans for a 22-lot single-family subdivision dubbed Blackwood Knoll. In a separate action, the board denied a rezoning request to build an elementary school at Hambright and Patterson roads.

Bowman Development plans to build the subdivision on a 29-acre vacant tract west of Black Farm Road and north of McCord Road. The property’s rural zoning calls for a maximum density of 0.9 units per acre, with 45 percent of the project devoted to open space. Bowman Development’s proposal calls for nearly 0.6 units per acre, with 56 percent of the land used as open space.

Huntersville’s planning staff recommended approval of the sketch plans, saying that they were consistent with future land-use guidelines once minor revisions were made regarding sidewalk placement. The Planning Board voted last month to recommend approval of the petition.

In a separate action, the board denied by a vote of 4-2 a request by Lake Norman Charter School to build an elementary school on 39 acres. The property is undeveloped and used for farming purposes.

Council members cited outstanding issues regarding traffic improvements called for in the petition’s traffic-impact analysis.

The Planning Board recommended in May that the board approve the rezoning petition on the condition that the school commit to all traffic mitigation required by the town’s zoning ordinance.

Commissioners Rob Kidwell and Charles Guignard voted in favor of the rezoning.

The denial means Lake Norman Charter will have to wait a year before submitting a new rezoning petition for that property.