CHARLOTTE, NC– A South Charlotte Community may soon be home to a new affordable housing development: a 70-unit apartment complex that many area residents say doesn’t belong in their community.
“It’s like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole,” says South Charlotte resident, Clint Parker. Parker says building a three-story subsidized housing development near his neighborhood just doesn’t fit.
But an apartment complex may soon be in the works despite opposition from residents. On Tuesday, Charlotte City Council will vote on whether to allow the development with 70 low-income apartments off Weddington Road, across the street from Socrates Academy.
In 2011, the city adopted a policy with the goal of expanding affordable housing to parts of Charlotte that don’t currently have it, like South Charlotte.
Michael Kelley, a member of the Wedding Road Rezoning Committee, filed a formal protest petition against the rezoning. He says there are a number of issues including the size of the development, the lack of area jobs, and parking and traffic.
“The size and scope doesn’t fit. If you look around, this is the only two-story building out here. They’re wanting to build a three-story. It doesn’t fit the density around here,” says Kelley.
Residents fought plans to build 86 low-income housing units in Ballantyne in 2010. The developer eventually dropped the project. Neighbors had similar complaints about property values falling, and added traffic.
