INSIDE ▼ CMS fires superintendent PAGE 2A Friday, April 22, 2022 • Vol. 15 • No. 16
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'Look here, bro' Editor advises town on school construction, 5A
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Mint Hill not interested in expanding downtown
by Justin Vick
justin@cmgweekly.com
MINT HILL – Mint Hill leaders are not interested in expanding the downtown district. Resident Jerry Helms introduced his concept for Mint Hill Meadows to town commissioners prior to their April 14 meeting. Helms envisioned a 55-and-older community with 90 patio homes in the form of 19 quadruplexes and seven duplexes.
The problem is that his property on Lawyers Road is just outside of the town’s downtown overlay district. “There has been no conversations at this point in time by this board to increase the size of the downtown overlay area,” Mayor Brad Simmons told Helms. “For you to get to the unit count, we would have to take that property into the downtown overlay area. I’m
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83 residential units proposed in Mint Hill, 5A
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not in favor of that. I don’t want to increase the size of the downtown area.” Simmons acknowledged that Helms’s property abuts the downtown area, but letting him in could cause a chain reaction. “”There are so many people – probably some in this audience – who also have a piece of property that abuts the downtown overlay,” Simmons said. “If we start
increasing the downtown area, then we get caught up in the vicious cycle that never stops. It takes away the downtown-area feel.” Helms wanted to replicate the success at the Traditions at Lawyers Glen. He saw potential in ranch-style homes with access by foot to shopping and dining. The neighborhood would have had two pickleball courts, a gazebo and enough parking
at each home for four cars. “Mint Hill, like it or not, is one of the hottest developments in the Carolinas,” Helms said. “The growth, whether you like it or not, is coming and it’s here already. We’re trying to provide some attractive housing with all the amenities people want.” Simmons took a straw poll around the dais. None of the commissioners supported the idea either.
Matthews formalizes plans for downtown loop by Justin Vick
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MATTHEWS – Town leaders have updated the Composite Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan to include the Matthews Downtown Loop. The project consists of two loops with a connector on Trade Street and alternate routes throughout. It will have 7.7 miles of 10-foot wide multiuse paths. “Staff developed this loop by thinking about existing multi-use paths, where paths are planned, and where short links could be added,” Transportation Planner Dana Stoogenke explained in a memo to the Matthews Board of Commissioners. “This would create a looped network for recreation that could also serve a transportation need.” Commissioners adopted the plan in 2015 to guide staff and developers when it comes to planning for bike lanes, multi-use paths and greenways. It was updated in 2021 to include the rail trail corridor. “We recognized the rail trail corridor was something we needed to preserve, get into a document so that when we and developers are working here in Matthews on developing sites there is a reference for what needs to be done,” Town Engineer Susan Habina-Woolard said. The Matthews Develop Loop has come up in recent discussions about potential bond projects. Stoogenke explained in the memo
to commissioners that bicycle or pedestrian projects need to be identified in town plans to qualify for certain types of funding or to require developers to incorporate them into their projects. “I can say unequivocally, especially since COVID, that all of our loops
and multi-use paths are being used much much much more,” Mayor John Higdon said. “As I sit in my office overlooking the greenway, I can see people riding skateboards, rollerblading and lots of bikes. It’s important we keep this document updated.”
TOP: Charlotte opened new bike lanes along Fifth and Sixth streets April 16 that will eventually connect to a network of more than 40 miles of lanes across the city. Matthews is planning a loop of its own. David Flower/City of Charlotte ABOVE: Matthews Downtown Loop features 10 foot sidepaths set at least eight feet from the curbline or edge of pavement. Photo courtesy of Town of Matthews
County reviewing property values for 2023 reval by Justin Vick justin@cmgweekly.com
MINT HILL – The Mecklenburg County Assessor’s Office is making the rounds to educate the community about the 2023 revaluation. Staff gave updates to the Pineville Town Council on April 12, Mint Hill Board of Commissioners on April 14 and a slew of community groups since September. They’ll visit the Matthews Board of Commissioners on
Based on sales through the end of 2021, Mecklenburg County’s median sales price is $376,120. The county has been reviewing values for the upcoming revaluation. CMG file photo
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April 25 and Charlotte City Council on May 9. State law requires counties to conduct a reappraisal at least once every eight years. Mecklenburg’s last appraisal was in 2019, but the county has since shifted its revaluation to four-year cycles to stay closer to the market and reduce the likelihood of large market increases, according to Assistant Assessor Brad Fowler. Revaluations are used to redistribute the property tax base, not as a means
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of increasing property tax revenue, he said. “Things in Mint Hill may not grow at the same rate that things in Uptown will grow,” Fowler told Mint Hill commissioners. “Commercial property may not grow at the same rates as residential property. So when we revalue, we’re simply trying to set that fairness and equity across those different property spectrums, either locationally or by type.” see REVAL, Page 5A
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