KANNAPOLIS — The City Council tentatively approved Monday a 568-home subdivision in north Kannapolis.
The council approved a requested rezoning on 104 acres of land west of North Main Street ranging from residential village to planned unit development. The land lies at the end of 17th, 18th and 19th streets.
But city leaders delayed action on a conditional-use permit until the next meeting, March 25, when they hope the developer and city staff can present more details than were offered at the council’s meeting Monday.
Diamond Oak Development President Terry Predzimirski offered several concessions meant to ease concerns about the traffic the subdivision will generate.
He proposes to pay for: improvements to 17th Street, one of four entrances to the development, if the city secures right of way; a master plan for visual improvements on a stretch of Main Street between 22nd Street and 8th Avenue; and “traffic calming” measures at the points where his subdivision would link with older streets.
Those would be included among conditions imposed on the development to gain city approval, in addition to others Predzimirski has already agreed to, like building four small parks and a walking trail inside the subdivision.
However, at least one of the conditions — the traffic calming, or slowing, devices — seemed vague to council members who delayed the decision.
The offers came after a public hearing that lasted more than three hours and included lengthy testimony by a cadre of Predzimirski’s consultants hired to make his case to the council.
The council heard the matter on appeal from a Planning and Zoning Commission decision in November to approve the subdivision. Five residents asked for the hearing, including Brenda King, who lives on one of the streets affected by the development.
“No one has any objection to a development being built,”she said. “But we’re very concerned with the high density of this development.”
Diamond Oak proposes a mixture of single-family homes and duplexes, with some lots as narrow as 36 feet.
Without the zoning change — which allows a higher density in exchange for open space and certain design requirements — Diamond Oak could build around 450 single family homes or 600 duplexes, according to a land planner working for Predzimirski.
King and another resident who oppose the subdivision said traffic is their main concern, in addition to a drain on city services and an increased load on local schools.
They said the old streets are too narrow for some larger vehicles to pass without pulling over on the shoulder now, and they fear the effects of hundreds of more cars on those roads, especially during rush hour.
Larry Frasier, a Charlotte traffic engineer working for Diamond Oak, said the development would generate about 4,000 car trips per day, combining travel in and out.
But he said a study he performed, that the N.C. Department of Transportation accepted as valid, showed the roads around the proposed subdivision could handle the traffic with few problems.
Councilman Ken Geat-hers disagreed.
“I’m not disputing the expert, because I’m not an expert,”he said. “But there will be a traffic issue.”
Councilman Paul Bessent suggested phasing in the subdivision — with the council approving only the first phase now — would allow time to see the real impact. The first phase would consist of single-family homes on larger lots.
But Predzimirski, who attended the meeting but did not speak, communicated through his agents that he was unwilling to agree to that condition.
Completing the subdivision will take four to six years, they said. But the company has divided the plan into three sections to attract a variety of buyers and wants to develop them simultaneously, said John Carmichael, an attorney representing Predzimirski.
“Economically, I don’t think that’s really plausible for them, unfortunately,” he said of building the subdivision in phases.
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