Development stories drive breakout month at aShortChronicle

Here at aShortChronicle there isn't a huge emphasis on readership.  The mantra has always been it's more important "who" reads than "how many".

However, periodically we see spikes in the number of page views that warrant taking notice.  The month of May completed this past week was one of those events, or more accurately May included a series of those events.

Here's the monthly chart since the blog began over 5 years ago.

It doesn't show the total numbers because, well, it's always good to keep Town Hall guessing and on their toes.  However, let's just say even before this past month, readership had grown way bigger than ever expected - a fact that surely makes some blind faith Town Hall defenders cringe.

So what happened in May?  Stories about development happened.  That's what.

Three of the blog's all time top five posts happened in May - all about development related stories.  The story about Mooresville's Planning Board public hearing on the proposed Lake Davidson project rocketed to the all time #1 spot getting nearly 6000 page views.  The recent story about the Beaty Street project involving "lawyers, threats, and karma" now sits at #3 all time.  The story about Mooresville planning Lake Davidson with developers long before the public knew sits at #5.

With over 700 posts published, three top 5 posts in a single month definitely is unique.  However, it should be noted, those posts were just the "gravy".  May would have still been a record month even without them.

Town Hall and its minions may not like what we do or how we do it here at aShortChronicle, but the public seems to in growing numbers.  Then again, there is zero financial stake in this blogging operation for us. The same can not always be said for the interests of those who don't like it.

"Lake Davidson" rezoning hearing/vote on Monday in Mooresville

It is time to head to Mooresville Town Hall again on Monday for the next update one of the biggest development stories currently out there for the whole Charlotte region..

At 6 pm, the Mooresville Board of Commissioners will start their regular monthly meeting. On the agenda is a public hearing and potential vote on the rezoning of 140 Acres on Lake Davidson in Mooresville ETJ.  Last month, the hearing at the town Planning Board on the same subject drew a large crowd.

aShortChronicle expects a large number of Davidson area residents to be in attendance this time as well, possibly with attorneys in tow this time around.

At question is Mooresville's interpretation that this is in  fact just a "straight up" rezoning that meets with the town's stated plans.  If it is not, then this should be a what is called a "conditional" rezoning.  This line of reasoning was part of the conversation when Davidson Commissioners discussed a letter to Mooresville expressing Davidson's concerns with the project.  The idea of this being "conditional" rather than "straight up" has also been circulating around the area outside of Davidson Town Hall.

If this rezoning were to be "conditional" rather than "straight up", it would not stop the Lake Davidson project.  However, it would allow more control over how any future development occurred.  Conditional zonings can get very complicated, but they also can ensure the best development when done right because they can apply project specific conditions rather than giving the developer by right permissions available under standard zoning.

Developers generally hate dealing with conditional zoning.  By default, that means they likely benefit the public.

Also, in play here is the fact that Mooresville just lost a court case over its poor handling of the rezoning request for a new Costco at exit 35.  Will that make Board members a little gun shy this time?  Head to Mooresville Town Hall tomorrow evening to find out.

Activist effort makes name change to "Save Davidson"

Thursday evening, after fighting for months under the banner "Save West Davidson's Tree Canopy", activists who started out seeking changes to Davidson's Beaty Street RFP have decided on a name change.   With a nod to the fact the page has touched on numerous topics of great concern to all who love this town (not just the Beaty RFP), the page will now be known simply as "Save Davidson".

In a post to group members admin Denise Beall wrote:

Dear friends and supporters,

When we started this Group to save the West Davidson's Tree Canopy we were completely taken back by the overwhelming support our movement has received.

The interconnection of citizen struggles and the similarities of how the town has been addressing citizens and their legitimate issues and concerns was apparent. Many concerns around town have already been discussed here; Asbestos, Gentrification, RAP, Safe Hotels, Circles@30, Paradise Lost, and Potts Project to name a few. These discussions began to galvanize our belief that many of these experiences were symptoms of a larger problem: Local government and its fair, ethical and transparent representation and duty to the citizens of Davidson.

The Save West Davidson's Tree Canopy Group founders cannot deny that this group has become something even bigger than we had ever imagined and has morphed into a launching and landing point for our community to share information and support one another on issues across the Town of Davidson. Therefore, in an effort to embrace all our Davidson brethren, give a broader voice to concerns and become a spotlight for the upcoming election, we now say goodbye to Save West Davidson's Tree Canopy group name and officially change the group name to simply, 'Save Davidson.' The flow of our conversations will remain unchanged and we can continue to help one another as we have been all along.

The success of this group is due to many individuals, not simply one person—an army of citizens, seen and unseen. The continued success of this group depends on it's members and we encourage all to be fearless, if you see something, say something. Save Davidson!

That last part appears to be hitting home with residents as more and more people really do seem to be showing up at Town Hall meetings, doing public records requests, and posting useful information to educate the public on what's happening in town.

Nothing but good things can come from that.

Mi-Connection subsidy drop stalls in new budget

The long march towards profitability for Mi-Connection appears to be stalling.

On Tuesday, the Town of Davidson sent out a release on the municipally owned cable company providing the latest numbers and projections for next year's budget.  In FY2018 Mooresville and Davidson will have to pony up $2,931,038 to subsidize the company.

Under the current agreement with Mooresville, Davidson pays a maximum of $1,000,000 per year in subsidy and anything over that based on the Town's 30% ownership percentage accrues with Mooresville.  If there is good news in the current numbers it's that the Davidson's share for just the current year is below the $1,000,000 mark.  30% of $2,931,038 equals $879,311.  However, Davidson will still pay a $1,000,000 subsidy this year due to past accruals on its Mooresville credit card.

Even though it doesn't help Davidson's actual budget this year, that annual amount under $1,000,000 is the lowest since Mi-Connection first went into the red back in FY2010 when Davidson owed just $181,000.  After that year the deficits and subsidies exploded.  All told, including the upcoming FY2018 budget, Davidson will have subsidized Mi-Connection a total of over $11.5 million over the years.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that the a annual drop in overall subsidy appears to have stalled going into FY2018.  aShortChronicle delved into its email archives for these annual budget announcements from the Town to compile the below chart.

Notice, the projected drop in overall subsidy of just $118,636.  That's a significantly smaller drop than in recent years.  The announcement from the Town did not offer a reason for this slowdown going into FY2018.  aShortChronicle also noticed that previous announcements included the previous year numbers as well to highlight the significant year over year drops.  The announcement for FY2018 did not, a possible sign this much smaller drop was not lost on the Town either.

If the pace of improvement had continued at the previous rate, Davidson was in for a bit of a "windfall" in coming years as the annual subsidies would have dropped well below the $1 million mark and the Mooresville credit card was paid off.  That would start freeing up money for tax relief or other needs.

Now, it looks like that date is put off at least another year.

Davidson Commissioners to send ironic letter opposing Mooresville's Lake Davidson neighborhood

"The one thing I don't see in here is this whole concern about the intensity of the neighborhood - how big it is; how many houses it is; how many people you're trying to put in that space compared to the R3 zoning it was.

It seems a little bit like it's not strong enough.  It's like we have some concerns, but basically, we don't like it at all."

That was Davidson Commissioner Stacey Anderson referring to a draft letter put together by Planning Director Jason Burdett on behalf of the Board.  At last week's Board meeting the Board discussed sending the letter to Mooresville expressing their concerns around the proposed Lake Davidson neighborhood in Mooresville's ETJ right on Davidson's border.  Anderson's comment came as the discussion opened.  See video at minute 160 here.

Commissioners spent several minutes critiquing the Mooresville project.  There were questions and concerns about Mooresville's process, by right versus conditional zoning, and whether this plan fit within the stated plans for the area.  Mayor Woods told of speaking to area land owners and there being little detail on the actual future plan at this point.  They also danced around the fact that it's a bit unusual for one local Board to offer direct criticism or even suggestions to another elected Board.

However, what may have been the most unusual thing of all was the level of seemingly unnoticed irony in this discussion considering that what Mooresville is doing is effectively the same thing as what Davidson just recently did itself with its mass RAP rezoning. To allow for more density in major portions of its rural area, Davidson uptiered the zoning of 1100 acres from Rural to Neighborhood Edge, Neighborhood General, or Neighborhood Services - all of which allow much more density than Rural.

During the RAP debate, many of the concerns expressed by Davidson's citizens were the exact same ones expressed by Davidson's Commissioners in the discussion about the Lake Davidson neighborhood.  One has to wonder if Davidson Commissioners could hear themselves as they expressed them.  Did they hear the irony?

When the citizens expressed them about the RAP, Davidson Commissioners rammed through their plan anyway.  Those same Commissioners shouldn't be surprised if they get the same treatment from Mooresville on June 5th.

Beaty Street: Lawyers, threats, and karma at Davidson Town Hall

Davidson Town Hall was the set for some high drama last Tuesday - drama worthy of an episode of Matlock or even the climactic scene from a John Grisham novel.  The action included:

• Three very southern lawyers sitting around a Town Hall conference table sort of sizing each other up while being unfailingly polite.
• A threat to clear the room when the gallery got a little vocal.
• A closing argument one-liner that will forever live in Davidson's collective memory.

The scene starts at the 1hr16min mark of this video from Town Hall.  It has already shattered records for the number of views of anything Davidson Town Hall has on file.

In what appeared to be an orchestrated event intended to finally quash opposition to Town Hall's plans for the 19 acre Beaty Street property, former Town Attorney Rick Kline was summoned to Davidson Town Hall on Tuesday as an "expert witness" of sorts.  Kline was the attorney when the Town of Davidson bought the majority of the Beaty Street land back in 1985.  He should know if the land was intended as a park, right?

Over several minutes of questioning, mostly by Commissioner Jim Fuller, himself an attorney and former judge, Kline recounted the history of the purchase as he remembered it and according to "his file".  Meanwhile, there's a gentleman in the back of the room who has stood multiple times throughout it all as if asking to be recognized.  Who was he?

As the story began to unfold, Kline said he didn't remember the land being purchased with any "strings attached", either "legally or non-legally".  He said that in spite of his own documents referencing a park multiple times.

At that point the attendee in the back of the room who had stood speaks up and says, "I just wanted to let you know I'm here.  I'm Ralph Clontz.  I was there."  To that, the room erupts into applause. Who is Ralph Clontz?  Well, he turns out to be none other than Ralph Clontz III, the grandson of Venie Clontz who sold the property to Davidson over 30 years ago.

Kline proceeds to say all the documents that mention a park were from him as if to parse the fact that references to a park were just his and that there was no obligation for a park because he didn't remember it that way.  That of course flew in the face of at least one document aShortChronicle showed readers in this piece from Tuesday AM.  That document had been circulating  on social media for days.  The crowd grew restless at these conflicting statements by Mr Kline coming on behalf of the Town's position.

In response to the restless audience, one can hear Commissioners tell the crowd to settle down. One of them blurts out "we'll clear the room if we have to!!"  (Has that actually ever happened in Davidson - a real threat to throw the public out of Town Hall???)

Doing the right thing, Commissioner Fuller asks if the Board would "suspend its rules" of normal procedure and allow Mr Clontz to speak.  Having little choice with a room full of people, they allow it.  If the room had been empty who knows what would have as happened.  One can easily see Mr Clontz being asked to "set up an appointment with staff" to discuss in detail - a tactic sometimes employed to keep uncomfortable discussion out of the Board Room.

Instead, the public heard several minutes of quote unquote "testimony" that directly contradicted the Town's star witness, Mr Kline.

Mr Clontz, now the third attorney in the discussion, recounted clearly knowing his grandmother intended to sell that property to Davidson for use as a park.  Saying :  "I know.  It was important to her.  She believed that this was going to be used for a park."  When describing the negotiations between his grandmother and the Town, Ralph Clontz told of the sale being at "somewhat of a discount", saying "she was trying to do something very wonderful for the Town of Davidson - that being a park.  That's what we thought was going to happen."

There were a few more minutes of discussion, then Mr Clontz says  "I just hate for my grandmother to have been so generous and then...poof."

To that Commissioner Jenest interjects that all the proposals discussed include at least some park uses.  After acknowledging that as "good to know" Mr Clontz goes back to the original intent of the sale with this closing line.

"You can decide to ignore the wishes of a little old lady who was very generous if you want to, but...(dramatic pause)...that's some bad karma."

Being legally required and following the original intent of something aren't necessarily the same things.  So, it looks like the Town of Davidson has a decision to make - do what's legal or do what's right.

Whichever one it chooses, the jury (aka the citizens) will be watching closely.

100s of multufamily units coming to Potts Street per application

The hurricane of development pounding Davidson just went from a Category 3 to a Category 4, and it unfortunately shows no signs of stopping.

An application dated Monday 5/19 showed up on the town website this week - exactly when is unclear - for something simply name the "Potts Development".   The application proposes 19 townhomes and 276 multi-family units.  Whether those would be condos or apartments is also unclear, but recent development patterns would say apartments are likely.

The developer is Crescent Communities, the development spinoff of Duke Energy.  The rest of the development team includes all too familiar names on big developed projects in Davidson.  Local attorney Susan Irvin filed the application, and once again the firm of Davidson Commissioner Brian Jenest did the land planning.

Per the application, this appears to be a "by right" development which likely means Davidson Commissioners won't vote on it.

Also per the application, the traffic impact analysis is underway, but one can be sure the TIA will say impact from this project is being "mitigaged" by both the Potts Sloan Beaty corridor an the reconfiguring of the Potts/115 intersection currently being planned.  Both of those projects are being made possible with I77 HOT lanes "bonus allocation" dollars.  Incidentally, Commissioner Jenest has been a staunch supporter of that controversial effort to expand I77 with the toll lanes that also generated those bonus dollars.

aShortChronicle noticed something interesting about this plan when looking at the pictures that came with the application.  They made us ask the question "why does this development not use the entire property?"  Readers will notice the bottom several acres next to the BMP pond are not being developed.

Why would that be?  Developers tend to use every square inch of land to squeeze out more profits.

A close examination of the main parcel in question appears to give the answer.  When bringing that parcel up in Polaris, it is 00320511A and 00320511B. Part A is in Davidson and Part B is in Cornelius.  Part A is zoned by Davidson as Village Infill which allows this kind of high intensity development.  Part B is zoned by Cornelius as Neighborhood Residential which only allows 2-4 residences per acre per the Cornelius planning ordinance.

From Cornelius Zoning Map

It would seem, the correct way to look at this is that Cornelius's zoning has saved Davidson from this project being 50% bigger and creating a true traffic disaster at this entrance to town - at least for now.   Davidson is allowing this while Cornelius would not. Remember that the next time you hear Davidson Town Hall crowing about the awards won by the town Planning Department.