With permission, The Beacon is archiving past issues of Matthews Record (also called Matthews News and Record and The Matthews News) articles online. Throwback Thursday articles will include relevant content still facing Matthews today. These stories were originally published November 23, 2006 and was written by the Record staff.
Rezoning request challenged
Over 100 Matthews residents turned out to hear a presentation by Beazer Homes and their proposed rezoning and development of 91 townhomes off South Trade Street last Thursday.
The purchase of roughly 20 acres of undeveloped land belonging to the Hylton and Martin families by Beazer Homes, will depend on the success of the zoning request. The homes would start at $265,000. Residents from Country Place, Hampton Green, and Chesney Glen, all neighboring subdivisions, quickly turned the subject to the everpresent topic - traffic.
“It horrifies me that we are even considering another development before the traffic problem is addressed,” said Jack Clark of Hampton Green, a sentiment that was echoed through the night.
With an estimated 182 more vehicles vying for traffic commute space between Fullwood, Pleasant Plains, and Weddington roads, the potential traffic quagmire overwhelmed those in attendance at the community meeting. Many citizens expressed concern about the “chicken before the egg” concept where development takes place before the traffic issues are resolved. Adjacent property owners indicated they were always aware of residential development of that site, for single-family homes, not townhomes. A couple of Matthews town commissioners were present, along with Mayor Lee Myers who addressed the crowd, trying to assure them that the development proposal is in its infancy and that the town leaders will do the right thing for the community. Citizens are encouraged to stay on top of further developments regarding the Beazer rezoning request.
