An End to Isolation

by Bea Quirk, Charlotte Business Journal

The completion of the outerbelt in southwestern Mecklenburg is opening up the county's last frontier, the area known as Dixie Berryhill, to unprecedented growth. 

To guide the crush of development that's expected to follow the arrival of Interstate 485, the Charlotte City Council recently approved a strategic plan for an area that largely retains its rural roots.

"This area is wild; it's considered the frontier," says Sue Friday, a neighborhood activist who was on the stakeholder committee that helped shape the plan. "Not many people know about us, and we'd like to keep it that way. But with I-485, Lake Wylie is going to be closer to uptown than Lake Norman. No one was interested in us before I-485."

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission defines Dixie Berryhill as the area between Charlotte/Douglas International Airport and the Catawba River, with Interstate 85 forming its northern boundary, and Rock Island, Shopton and Steele Creek roads at the south. Much of its 7,594 acres is forested. There are scattered single-family homes; the population was roughly 4,000 in 2000.

The plan encourages mixed-use development of varying densities and supports transit while being pedestrian-oriented and sensitive to the natural features of the land. It recommends zoning changes to allow higher densities, but also recommends minimizing residential development near the airport.

"Some people wanted to keep it pastoral with low density, while others thought it was more important that more be done to plan for future job growth," says zoning consultant Walter Fields, who represented Pappas Properties as one of the area's stakeholders. "I think they struck a good balance -- it's a good piece of work."

Friday agrees, saying, "I'm not unhappy with the results. When development comes, I want it done right; I want quality development. This plan provides protection. It also makes strong environmental statements. Although they have no teeth in them, they are there as a reminder that the environment should be considered."

Along with available land and the development potential of the Catawba River, infrastructure improvements will also add to the area's growth.

Water and sewer lines are coming to the area. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities has projects worth nearly $46 million under way in the area, with completion expected next year.

"We provide these services in time for the market, not ahead of the market," says Doug Bean, CMU director. "The lines come in lockstep with growth. With this (strategic plan) plan in place, we know what density is going where, so we know exactly what size lines to use."

The airport is undergoing expansion, which includes major road construction. West Boulevard will be expanded to connect with Garrison Road and will have an interchange with I-485. To make way for a third north-south runway, Wallace Neel Road will be relocated in a project that should begin this summer.

Further into the future is the construction of the Garden Parkway in Gaston County. Basically an extension of West Boulevard, the road will affect Gaston the way the outerbelt has shaped Mecklenburg, says Dave Williams, Gaston's community development director. The proposed toll road will cross the Catawba and enter Mecklenburg in Dixie Berryhill.

Developers say the water and sewer lines will be key catalysts for growth. "More important than the roads is that utilities are coming to the area, and sewer lines are being extended into the region," says Charles Teal of Pappas Properties. His company will begin work in early 2004 on Berewick, the area's first master-planned community.

Just west of I-485 at Steele Creek Road and Shopton Road West, Berewick won zoning -- in conformity with the strategic plan -- for 1,600 single-family homes, 750 multifamily units, 1.2 million square feet of office and 250,000 square feet of retail on 1,050 acres. Teal says Pappas will need eight to 10 years to complete it. About 200 acres of the site were sold to Mecklenburg County for a park.

Friday remains concerned about development adjacent to the airport and says city government has not done enough to make Charlotte/Douglas part of the community or to improve the relationship between area residents and the facility. And that leads to one of her basic qualms: lack of accountability.

Last year, as a result of legislation passed by the N.C. General Assembly, Charlotte assumed responsibility for zoning for virtually all unincorporated areas in Mecklenburg. So while none of Dixie Berryhill lies within Charlotte, City Council has the authority to determine its zoning.

"We're trusting the future of the area to people we can't even vote for," Friday notes. "And a plan only means what elected officials allow it to mean."

County Commissioner Dumont Clarke is sympathetic. "If I were living there, I'd probably resent it, too," he says. "But it makes a lot of sense if an area is eventually going to become part of the city. It should be under one zoning authority so you don't have inconsistent uses and different sets of rules for one urban area."

Council doesn't have a strong reputation for following plans, however, even among its constituents. Jerry Orr, aviation director at Charlotte/Douglas, says, "Often we do plans and then don't take the steps to help them happen. If this was just an exercise, then we've wasted everyone's time. But if we take steps to implement the plan, we'll have orderly development and an appropriate spending of the public's money."