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Neighbors tell Hickory City Council duplex driveways on Twentieth Avenue will endanger children, worsen parking
Summary
Residents at the May 20 Hickory City Council meeting urged the council to intervene after two cleared lots will be developed as four rental units that will be accessed from a dead-end street, increasing traffic, blocking driveways and raising safety concerns.
Byron Mason, a resident of 1334 Twentieth Avenue Place Northeast, told the Hickory City Council on May 20 that two lots being developed into two duplexes will route all vehicle access onto the dead-end Twentieth Avenue and substantially increase traffic where children play.
“This is a 2 multifamily buildings, which will have 4 units and increase the traffic on a road by 8 vehicles,” Mason said during public comment, adding that construction crews already have been speeding down the road, blocking driveways and using neighbors’ driveways as turnarounds.
Mason said the parcels at 2047 and 2051 Eighth Street Drive Northeast were cleared about five months ago and that the developer built a driveway from 2051 across 2047 and along a utility easement so both lots will exit onto Twentieth Avenue rather than Eighth Street. “These lots are tiny at 0.116 and 0.25 of an acre,” he said, and he told council the duplex footprints are about 2,500 square feet and that the properties are required to provide eight parking spaces and a turnaround but that the lots appear too small to accommodate those features.
Peter Collins, who said he has lived at 1320 Twentieth Avenue Place Northeast for 25 years, told the council residents were not informed that the lots would be connected to their street. “If you’re gonna put up developments, put a sign up. Let us know,” Collins said.
Mason thanked city staff who answered his questions, mentioning “Brian Frazier, if he is here” and Caroline Cohn, and said Tim from code enforcement visited his home earlier the same day to address the construction traffic. The speakers characterized the proposed units as rental properties built without yards, adequate parking or nearby mail and trash access; Mason said tenants would need to walk about 200 feet to reach mail and trash and that trash bins will likely be staged on neighboring yards because trash trucks will not drive up the driveway.
Council members did not take a formal action on the project during the meeting; the item presented in public comment and requests for further review were noted. There was no record in the meeting minutes of a motion or vote on the parcels that evening.
The residents’ remarks focused on public-safety and access concerns rather than on the zoning approval documents themselves. They asked the council and staff to review whether the driveway alignment and parking provisions comply with city code and to consider notifying neighbors earlier in the permitting process for similar projects.
The council did not debate the development on the record during the meeting; the comments were part of the public comment portion of the agenda and were heard by the mayor and council members present.
