Town holds public hearing on First & Church townhomes; staff supports 14-unit, for-sale project with one affordable unit

The board conducted a public hearing on petition R25-02, a conditional rezoning request to allow 14 attached townhomes on a site along Church Street. Planning staff entered the staff report into the record and said the proposal would create roughly 12 units per acre, provide a 12-foot multiuse seam trail on Church Street, 44 parking spaces, an urban open space, and a path around an on-site stormwater control measure.

“Here you can see an aerial oversight…This would be a 100% attached development, roughly 12 units per acre,” staff said, noting the development is intended as for-sale townhomes and that the project fits the mixed-use center designation in the 2040 Community Plan and the downtown master plan.

Staff described requested ordinance modifications including a reduction of a 35-foot rear setback down to 5 feet (which staff supported given the urban context), buffer reductions along adjacent properties with an enhanced planting plan, and a modification to the on-street-parking requirement for narrow lots; staff said it had negotiated additional rear parking and garage spaces to compensate for the on-street parking modification.

The applicant’s representative confirmed to the board that the developer agreed to provide one affordable/attainable unit as part of the project. Commissioners praised the for-sale townhouse form as a contribution to the “missing middle” housing types in Huntersville’s downtown and asked about the proposed pocket park at the corner of the site. The developer said the open-space corner would include seating, shade structure (pergola or gazebo) and landscaping, and that the team would continue to refine those plans with staff.

No board decision was recorded at the June 3 meeting; the item remained a public hearing matter to move forward through planning review.