MINT HILL, NC – Mayor Brad Simmons and the Board of Commissioners met on February 11 to discuss the topics impacting the business of Mint Hill.

The board approved the following key items on the Consent Agenda unanimously:

• The December and January tax collector’s report
• The temporary construction easement for ByFiorenza Sai Mint Hill, LLC
• The appointment of Angela Mills as the Mint Hill Member of the Arts and Science Council
• The acceptance of Bartlett Road for town maintenance from NCDOT
• The November and December treasurer’s reports and financials

The most important topic of discussion was the public hearing on item #ZC20-10, filed by NVR, Inc. to allow conditional district rezoning from R to R DO-A (CD) for a new residential development project located at Lawyers Road in and around the area of Truelight Church Road.

NVR, Inc. has submitted a proposal to construct 130 townhomes on the property owned by the Helms family. The name of the project is Hillgrove Townhomes; the home builder is Ryan Homes.

The project is located near the Traditions townhome community next door to the new proposed neighborhood. The density in the current townhome community is 4.8 homes per acre. The current density proposal calls for 5.2 homes per acre, with approximately 40% common open space area.

Discussions have been ongoing between the town and the developer. The town’s ordinance addresses the downtown overlay to be a pedestrian-friendly oriented zone. During the early planning stages of this proposal, the Mayor and Commissioners wanted the community to connect Brighton Park’s dead-end trail with a bridge to Hillgrove Townhomes, and then have the developer build a greenway going out to Apple Creek Drive for the residents in the surrounding neighborhood.

In order to accommodate the Commissioners’ requests to find out what the developer is willing to bring to the negotiation to benefit Mint Hill, the group created the following proposal to meet the town’s needs.

• Build a new public greenway for the Town of Mint Hill
• Install a pedestrian bridge connection to Brighton Park
• Build a dedicated greenway connecting to Apple Creek Drive on Town-owned property
• Fund and install a new stoplight at Lawyers Road and Truelight Church Road intersection to include a pedestrian crossing

The project includes the following important information to be evaluated by the Town of Mint Hill prior to full approval.

• Transportation Improvements to include right and left-turn lanes at the site entrance (plus the proposed new stoplight mentioned above)
• Open space of approximately 11.92 acres or 40%
• Public Greenway to run along Irvin’s Creek, connecting Lawyers Road with Apple Creek Drive and connecting to Brighton Park with a new greenway; the proposal meets with the Mint Hill Pedestrian Master Plan and the Mecklenburg County Greenway Plan
• Buffers along the entirety of Irvin’s Creek, a 70% landscape open space area along the entire frontage, and buffers to the existing single-family neighborhood in Mint Hollow

Public comments about the proposal were made by several Mint Hill residents from the area of the proposed construction site, and there were more objections and concerns expressed than were in favor of the project. The primary issue mentioned was the traffic impact the project would have on Lawyers Road and the surrounding communities. Citizens also questioned the density of the townhouse project with 130 units all attached in such a small area while adding potentially another 260 vehicles daily on the local roads.

The Town Management, Mayor, and Commissioners will evaluate the project’s merits andits value to the community, consider all the objections, and make a decision regarding this project proposal for Mint Hill.