Gastonia Neighbors Trying to Stop Shopping Center Planned for Wooded Area

GASTONIA, NC – New information about a community’s fight to stop a planned shopping center in Gastonia. Some people who live nearby argue it could cause flooding and noise issues.

“We’re just interested in what’s best for our neighborhood,” explains Betty Townsend. She has lived at her home on Gardner Park Drive since 1984.

She and her neighbors have successfully fought off development attempts next door for decades.

“We believe that with more commercial development down there we’ll get noise and light pollution,” she explains.

Now they’re worried the latest rezoning plan could succeed.

Tuesday night, Gastonia City Council is expected to vote on a plan for a shopping center on the wooded area along Franklin Blvd.

They say the patch of woods serves as a buffer between their homes and the busy road as well as Franklin Square shopping center.

“We got enough commercial buildings and everything on the other side. And everywhere else,” explains Gastonia resident Ronney Cole.

He has lived at his home on Pamela Street for 50 years.

He says this is one of the last natural wooded areas nearby.

“It’s a sound barrier too. And it looks a whole lot better than a bunch of buildings,” Cole says.

But neighbors are most concerned about flooding. They say the area is a floodplain which protects their homes.

“It’s a sensitive area already and we’d like to see it kept natural with the trees and no more development on that side,” Townsend says.

Neighbors say while they’re worried the plan could go through, they’re not giving up.

“Of course you’ve gotta have progress. We know that. But we like our woods. We’d like to keep ’em,” Cole says.