Town council votes to shut down controversial Weddington Green Development

WEDDINGTON, N.C. — On Monday night, the Weddington Town Council voted to shut down the much-debated Weddington Green Development.

The council voted 3 to 2 against the project that would have taken up roughly two-and-a-half miles of land between Providence Road and Weddington-Matthews Road in Union County.

Channel 9′s Glenn Counts said that during the meeting, it looked like the council was going to send the plans for the development back to the planning board because of the number of changes that were proposed, such as getting rid of townhomes.

Development debate brings hundreds to raucous Weddington town meeting

However, after a recess, the board reconsidered and voted to deny the project, with Weddington Mayor Craig Horn casting the deciding vote.

“It’s a big relief but you can’t help but wonder what happens next. But there needed to be a decision,” Developer Tom Waters said.

After the months-long fight, residents told Channel 9 they were thrilled with the decision.

“I think tonight’s vote was great,” Weddington resident Andy Stallings said.

Residents said they moved to Weddington for the small-town lifestyle. They said they were worried that Weddington Green would have changed all of that.

In March, Waters took Channel 9′s Genevieve Curtis through the land and shared his vision for what the development would look like. Waters is proposing a community with 197 homes, a park, amphitheater and greenway, but not all locals have supported the idea. In fact, thousands have protested against it.

For months, Channel 9 has seen packed meetings and heard concerns about traffic, schools overcrowding and the potential for crime over the Weddington Green Development. At the center of the issue, some neighbors don’t want to see Weddington relax current zoning laws, which require every home be on at least one acre of land.

Yard signs have popped up all over Weddington, but even that brought controversy. Neighbors impacted GPS devices and called the sheriff’s office when their signs went missing. The sheriff’s office said it investigated and found a code enforcement officer had removed them for being improperly placed.

Last week, neighbors shared emails with Channel 9 that they had requested between city leaders and the developer, which they believe show leaders coaching the developer on how to sell the project.

One neighbor said she was still undecided, but a majority of neighbors Channel 9 spoke to Monday afternoon were against the project.

“We don’t want to be packed in on top of each other,” said Don Cuthbertson. “With everyone having an acre of land per home, that’s the lifestyle we’ve chosen.”

The developer told Genevieve Curtis everything had been above-board. The town administrator said town staff and elected officials have followed state law since Jan. 2020 when the pre-application process began.

EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the Weddington Mayor as Tom Waters.

(WATCH BELOW: Questions rise over emails released ahead of town council’s final decision on Weddington development)