Huntersville planning staff report record construction, rising multifamily permits and push to study northeast area and downtown stormwater

Huntersville planning staff reported that the town’s population is about 70,000 and that permitting and construction remain strong, with an unusually large increase in multifamily projects and a record year for nonresidential construction.

Planning director Brian said the town tracks population by certificates of occupancy and that, after a small state demography adjustment last year, the department is “anticipating a 5% growth rate,” which staff translated into an increase that will put Huntersville “just under 70,000 people.” He said the town recorded 389 single‑family home permits last year and expects single‑family permitting may dip to roughly 300 lots this year. By contrast, staff flagged a major rise in multifamily approvals and permitting, including projects at Birkdale, Old Statesville Road, Hambrite Junction, Vermilion Village and others.

Why it matters: staff warned the commissioners that the permit mix is shifting and that timing differs by housing type. Brian said multifamily projects “take a little bit longer” — often 18 to 24 months — while single‑family homes typically produce certificates of occupancy in 4–12 months. That timing affects when new residents actually appear in population counts and when nonresidential tax bases become realized.

The numbers: staff reported nearly $450 million in nonresidential construction activity in Huntersville last year, which the presentation described as an all‑time high. The breakdown cited by staff included roughly $240 million for multifamily construction, about $85 million for new commercial structures, roughly $18 million for utility and infrastructure upgrades and nearly $80 million for renovations or tenant upfits.

Small‑area planning and stormwater analysis: staff asked the board to support a small area study for northeast Huntersville — described as the “last frontier of large undeveloped tracts” inside the town’s planning area — to refine 2040 Plan land‑use designations, identify needed roads and trails and plan transitions from low‑density rural areas to higher intensity uses where sewer and roads permit. Brian noted Charlotte Water’s recent sewer extension into the northeast as a catalyst for future development.

Relatedly, staff described a downtown stormwater analysis under negotiation. Brian said the study will inventory pipes, inlets and ditches, run field work and later perform hydraulic modeling to identify capacity limits and candidate infrastructure projects, with a second phase to seek grants and physical improvement strategies. The downtown study’s goal is to “create the downtown stormwater network to handle future growth,” staff said, and to identify regional stormwater ponds that could be designed as community amenities instead of hidden retention basins.

Parking, urban‑design and zoning work: planning staff said they are finishing a downtown parking inventory — counting public and private stalls and parcel‑level supply — and will compare that to recent demand projections (a consultant’s red‑line downtown study expected in March). Staff flagged a consultant projection that downtown will need about 250 parking spaces; they also emphasized discussions about shared‑use agreements with churches, schools and private landowners.

Staff described completed and ongoing code work: a form‑based design guide is published online, zoning text amendments to encourage higher design standards and conditional‑zoning flexibility are underway and staff is preparing additional amendments on urban open‑space design, buffer and berm standards, parking requirements and a clearer “missing middle” map that shows where duplexes, triplexes and townhomes are allowed.

Trees and tree‑care: staff and the board discussed aging downtown canopy and tree save areas in newer subdivisions. Planning staff said many downtown trees are similar in age and will need staggered replacement; they also described conversations with Davidson about a possible memorandum of understanding to buy limited arborist services. Brian and parks staff recommended pursuing a local arborist resource and possible code updates to codify planting/maintenance expectations for tree save areas and homeowners’ associations.

Other planning activity: staff listed 35 active subdivisions in town, nine approved and ready to build, and roughly 2,000 approved but unbuilt single‑family units, about 250 townhomes and roughly 3,000 multifamily units in the approvals pipeline. The corporate limits were reported as just under 43 square miles and an extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) of roughly 20 square miles.

What’s next: planning staff asked the board to support near‑term work on the northeast small‑area plan, finalize the downtown stormwater contract negotiation and let staff proceed with text amendments and the parking study. The staff presentation also flagged potential grants (including a recently submitted RAISE grant and other opportunities) to help pay for both stormwater and tactical downtown improvements.

Ending: Commissioners asked questions about scope (how far to chase stormwater systems outside the traditional downtown envelope) and about timing for the small area plan and parking work; staff said the analyses will inform later capital work and grant requests.