INSIDE ▼ Matthews author encourages self-discovery PAGE 5A Friday, Feb. 18, 2022 • Vol. 15 • No. 7
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Leaders weigh land use by Justin Vick justin@cmgweekly.com
MINT HILL – Mint Hill has a reputation for single-family homes on half-acre or full-acre lots, but organizers of the town’s proposed land-use plan noticed clusters of various housing types and densities. Ian Anderson, a landscape architect with Merrick Company, shared highlights of his team’s work, which included engaging the community and evaluating development patterns over the past 10 years. “I think there’s a strong recog-
nition that Mint Hill is changing, growth is encroaching and now is the time to respond and figure out how to manage that growth so that we can keep that small-town feel,” Anderson said. Residents expressed a desire to maintain a small-town feel but they also wanted more things to do in terms of entertainment and dining. They didn’t necessarily want more parks but rather better parks. Based on such feedback, land use planners sought to preserve the character of existing neighborhoods.
“We don’t want to intrude into the character of the neighborhoods that have been established and make sure those are preserved and then guide development, compatible adjacent development around that,” Anderson said. The idea is to expand the range of housing choices to include starter homes, patio homes and senior housing. Such market-driven housing with more density can be concentrated around activity centers with commercial development. “As you move away from and get outside of those activity cen-
ters, we are back to that traditional Mint Hill, half-acre to an acre lots, maintaining that green character, and then likewise, parks and open space,” Anderson said. The draft plan will soon go before the planning board for feedback before returning to commissioners in March for a vote. While that is going on, planners will be finalizing “sub-area plans” that provide greater planning details for the downtown area as well as I-485 and N.C. 218. Commissioners see PLANS, Page 5A
WHAT'S INSIDE:
Self storage hoping for expansion
Help us help you
by Justin Vick
Health care officials ask for resources, 2A
justin@cmgweekly.com
Curiosities Incoming expo is devoted to oddities, 2A As many as 1,271 volunteers pitched in at Novant Health's COVID-19 vaccination clinics. The health care system tallied this up to 22,036 volunteer hours. Photo courtesy of Novant Health
One year of jabs
Top earner Alzheimer's walk proves popular, 1B
Slow aging Clinic among first in area to offer procedure, 1B
Sweet gesture Veterans receive valentines, 2B
Novant Health marks year of administering COVID-19 vaccines to Charlotte area
CHARLOTTE – More than 203,700 vaccine doses have been administered at Novant Health’s greater Charlotte market vaccination sites – Baldwin Midtown Charlotte, Huntersville and Salisbury – marking a one-year milestone in the community, the health care system announced Feb. 14. Vaccination site volunteers contributed 22,036 hours to help support operations at the three sites and administered an additional 13,425 vaccine doses at community events, making the total number of administered doses in the greater Charlotte market more than 217,000. Novant Health received help from 1,271 volunteers. “We are extremely proud of the vaccination efforts made in Charlotte, due in large part to the hard work and dedication of the team and volunteers at these sites,” said Marty Lambeth, vice president of Novant Health Physician Network Services. “While we have a long way to go and we urge anyone who hasn’t been vaccinated to do so,
we’re proud of the progress we’ve made in the fight against COVID-19.” To date, the healthcare system has administered over 605,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine across all markets, which represents 287,000-plus fully vaccinated individuals and 59,000-plus fully vaccinated and boosted people. On the web: www.GetVaccinated.org.
MINT HILL – Wendell Long says expanding his business, Mint Hill Self Storage & Parking, will help meet growing demand and alleviate instances of people leaving large recreational vehicles in their yards. Long hopes to rezone 10 acres of residential property at 14211 Cabarrus Road to industrial space so he can add six climate-controlled storage buildings and vehicle parking. He pitched the idea to commissioners during a Feb. 10 developers workshop. Such workshops are informal discussions that allow developers to get feedback from commissioners on ideas before applying for rezoning. Long told commissioners he has a waiting list of people wanting to store their property at his business. He tried to convince them that expansion would help prevent boats, haulers and recreational vehicles from eating up yards. “It keeps the community clean and looking nice, because this is what happens when you don’t have anywhere to put anything,” Long said, showing photos of large vehicles in yards. Long said trees will have to be taken out, but he intends on adding sidewalks along the site as well as replanting trees. He sought opinions from commissioners about removing the trees, but Mayor Brad Simmons said commissioners would need to see a site plan before weighing in. Leaders deny rezoning project Commissioners followed the recommendation of the planning board to deny a rezoning petition by Luther and Shelby Jones to rezone their residential property at 5011 Wilgrove-Mint Hill Road to general business. The planning board said commercial uses had the potential of disrupting the area’s residential nature.
Republicans want to allow students to opt out of masks by Nyamekye Daniel Contributor
(The Center Square) – North Carolina Republicans plan to propose legislation to allow parents to opt their children out of face covering requirements at schools. The state does not have a mask mandate at schools. The policy is
left up to local school districts, and many follow the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ StrongSchoolsNC Public Health Toolkit. The toolkit recommends that “schools have a universal masking policy in place for everyone (age 2 and older), in areas of high or substantial transmission,” according to
the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention guidance. Schools, however, can make face coverings optional when community transmission levels drop. As of Feb. 10, 40 out of the state’s 115 schools districts, including Union County Public Schools, moved to mask optional policies. Under current law, school dis-
tricts must decide each month what their face covering policy will be. When schools reopened for in-person instruction in March, masks were required in the toolkit. Gov. Roy Cooper lifted the requirement in June but added the recommendation that schools see MASKS, Page 5A
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