The Huntersville Planning Board on Sept. 23 recommended approval of R-25-08, Second Street Village, a rezoning for about 4.799 acres at 204 North Church Street to allow 61 townhomes and an apartment building that will contain at least 15 ‘attainable’ housing units. Planning staff supported the application and the board’s motion referenced the project’s consistency with multiple 2040 community-plan policies and the downtown master plan.

The rezoning includes 128 parking spaces (a mix of garages, surface lots and on-street stalls), six urban open spaces, a 12-foot side path to form part of a scenic trail, and a commitment to deed the attainable-housing parcel to a nonprofit partner. The applicant told the board they expect to donate a fully improved parcel with at least 24 parking spaces and a 3-story structure of roughly 7,000 square feet to a nonprofit partner (Lake Norman CDC, We Build Concord or similar) that would operate and lease the units at 80–120% of area median income; the applicant described that housing as permanent (in perpetuity) and said they expect 15–18 units depending on final design and program needs.

Staff supported six modification requests — including increased attached-housing percentage, reduced buffers and rear setbacks, and changes to on-street parking — as consistent with the downtown master plan and the 2040 plan’s goals for increased urban density and better-designed urban open space. The applicant committed to provide amenity details for the designated “boonerr/vooner” pedestrian-first passageway and to show how the urban roof space (the “vooner/boon roof”) will be furnished and landscaped to meet ordinance expectations.

Board members praised the project’s density, design approach and the permanent affordable-housing commitment. Several asked staff and the applicant to detail the rooftop amenity materials (for example where permeable pavers versus other surfacing will be used) and to confirm whether the small park at Second and Walter would be dedicated to parks & recreation or remain part of the HOA with public access. The applicant said the corner park will be open to the public, and that they are in discussions with Parks & Rec but will maintain it initially within the project while allowing public use.

Timing: the applicant estimated a permitting and grading period of roughly six to eight months and construction for homes in a five- to seven-month build cycle after that; earliest on-site grading was estimated at about a year out. Staff said previously raised stormwater concerns had been resolved for the rezoning stage but requested final plan-level responses to outstanding comments, including TIA/TIA thresholds if the unit count changes.

The planning board’s motion recommended approval and explicitly referenced support for the modifications in staff’s report; approval will be forwarded to the town commissioners. The board asked for clear documentation of rooftop/vooner amenities and confirmation of the affordable-housing delivery mechanism before final town action.