Council pauses Northway annexation after neighbors and council members press for traffic, stormwater analysis

The Gastonia City Council voted to continue consideration of a developer's request to annex and rezone roughly 83.37 acres on Briar Oak Drive and Penny Park Drive after neighbors and several council members said they had unresolved concerns about traffic, stormwater and lot density.

The applicant, represented by a development team including DP Development and Northway Homes, asked the council to annex the county parcels and apply a PD-R2-D2 planned development residential zoning to permit a 222-unit single-family subdivision. Planning staff and the Planning Commission had recommended approval, noting the proposal aligned with the 2025 Comprehensive Plan and included perimeter buffers and open space. The developer's site plan shows access from Penny Park Drive and two connections to Briar Oak Drive; it proposes a 7-foot neighborhood trail and approximately 17 acres of preserved trees.

Neighbors who spoke at the public hearing said local roads cannot handle the projected traffic. "If you take a drive out Penny Park Drive, unless they plan to rebuild the road, it's not capable of handling that volume," Councilman Jim Gallagher said after visiting the area. Several speakers representing Skyland and Briar Oak neighborhoods handed the council a petition and urged larger lot sizes and better buffering to match existing nearby homes.

Planning staff confirmed a Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) is required for the project; it was under review but not complete at the time of the hearing. Planning staff also noted the developer had agreed in conditions to implement any mitigations required by the TIA and to upgrade NCDOT-maintained roads to a minimum 20-foot paved width if NCDOT determines that work is needed. Staff also said the project would meet city stormwater standards and that the developer had committed to detention standards surpassing current requirements (designing to 25-year rather than 10-year storm events for treatment/detention).

Council discussion focused on three issues repeatedly raised by neighbors and several council members: traffic capacity on Penny Park Drive and Skyland Drive, floodplain and stormwater impacts in a basin where flooding has occurred previously, and neighborhood notice and outreach. Several council members said they supported density in principle, but asked for details showing how infrastructure would be upgraded and who would pay for required road improvements. The developer told council members they had already started the TIA and said they had agreed to the city's requested exterior building materials (fiber cement, masonry) that would raise construction cost by an estimated $20,000 per house.

Council voted on an initial motion to approve the annexation and rezoning; that motion failed. The applicant then asked for a continuance to allow time to complete and review the TIA and related engineering, and council unanimously approved continuing the public hearing to the August 19 meeting.

The continuance leaves the project's entitlement unresolved: the council directed staff to report back with a completed TIA, any required NCDOT mitigation commitments, stormwater engineering findings and the developer's final construction plans and mitigation agreement prior to any final vote. If the TIA requires significant off-site improvements (turn lanes, right-of-way acquisition), the council will have to decide how to apportion costs and permits with NCDOT, the developer and affected property owners.

The developer said final home prices were expected to start in the mid-to-high $200,000s and rise based on size. Neighbors said the proposed average lot size (about 9,000 square feet) was smaller than adjacent lots (about 13,000 square feet) and would change neighborhood character.

Ending note: The city will not take a final vote on the annexation or rezoning until the TIA and associated engineering work are completed and reviewed; the council set an August 19 date to revisit the matter.