Matthews City Council approves rezoning request for controversial mixed-use development

MATTHEWS, N.C. — The town of Matthews will move forward with a marquee mixed-use project.

City council members voted 5-2 in favor of the Pappas Development just past midnight. The project will bring 600 homes to the area. It will be located along Idlewild and Stallings Road, just off Interstate I-485.

Charlotte-based developer Pappas Properties had been working for months to secure rezoning approval.

The project has created controversy within the community. Opponents rallied outside Matthews Town Hall to urge leaders to reject the proposal.

Renderings show “Santé Matthews” would include 570 residential units, along with restaurants, office space, a grocery store, and a wellness center.

Critics that went to the meeting said the area can’t handle a high-density community and want to keep the area zoned for single-family homes.

“This project is not a bad project. It’s just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” one person said at the meeting. “I’m very much against the high density house, all the additional cars. It’s hard enough to get out of our neighborhood as is.”

Mark Tofano is one of two commissioners o vote against the project.

“The fight continues and the most important thing is that people’s voices are heard and they’re heard as often and as loudly as we can possibly allow,” Tofano said.

The developers did scale down the current plan to address the concerns.

However, neighbor Dan Brantmyer said the months long process moved too quickly. The town board only allowed people to speak on the issue once, regardless of the multiple revisions to the plan thanks to a town rule.

In a statement, Duke University called the provision an infringement on First Amendment rights.

“We had 400 people sign the petition who live here saying they don’t want this,” neighbor Tony Williamson said. “The main concern is the high density, the traffic, the safety of the neighboring communities,” Brantmyer added.

Neighbors say they are exploring steps that could stop the plan for now.

“Who knows what’s going to happen 5, 10, 15 years from now. No one knows. And I certainly don’t,” Tofano said.

Construction will start early next year.

Pappas shared a news release with Channel 9 that said it was able to incorporate a project by the North Carolina Department of Transportation into its design -- the construction of a roundabout on Idlewild Road.

The developers said they will also relocate Stallings Road to the roundabout “to create a safe traffic pattern, widening Idlewild Road to three to five lanes, improving sidewalks, and building a 12-foot pedestrian path along Stallings Road and 10-foot path along Idlewild Road.”

The development means the improvements will be made years earlier than they would have been completed by NCDOT, Pappas said.

“We are excited to be working in the Matthews community,” said Tom Walsh, Pappas Properties’ Managing Director.

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