Crescent Asks Mt. Holly to Rezone Land Near Lake Wylie from Residential to Heavy Industrial
Crescent Resources is asking Mt. Holly to rezone property near the upper section of Lake Wylie from residential to heavy industrial.
Crescent eyes Mount Holly for industrial park
excerpt from The Gaston Gazette
To read the entire story, go to http://www.gastongazette.com/news/industrial-54285-holly-mount.html
A proposed commercial and industrial business park could include up to 600,000 square feet of building space near Mount Holly and the Catawba River.
Real estate development company Crescent Resources is asking the city to rezone 118 acres from residential to heavy industrial.
That classification would allow for a variety of businesses, including wholesale, manufacturing and industrial uses that range from agricultural and fertilizer warehousing to chemical manufacturing to welding operations.
If Mount Holly approves the new zoning, the city will then move to annex the land. Without the zoning the spot won’t be annexed. Should annexation fail the rezoning would be invalid, said Greg Beal, the city’s senior planner.
* * *
Environmentalists question whether the heavy industrial classification and the varied uses it would allow is too drastic a change for the proposed site, which sits between National Gypsum and the Catawba.
Rick Gaskins is the executive director of the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation. He points to the extra runoff created from a developed site and to the possibility that people on the water could see the industrial park.
“I don’t have a problem with development but it’s doing it in a way that would be consistent to keeping the river as an amenity,” Gaskins said.
His group has requested a meeting with Mount Holly officials to talk about the project.
“If it’s as bad as it appears, we’ll certainly be opposing it,” he said.
Hicks said storm water runoff rules are strict and continue to tighten. He also questions whether the steep slope between the Catawba River and the proposed park would allow people to see the development.
Some industries could face limitations because of the park’s proximity to the water, according to the EDC director.
Conditions that limit land uses can’t be part of a general rezoning request like the one Mount Holly is considering, Beal said. But the city will work with Crescent resources to try to place controls on which industries could locate in the park.
“Certainly to give free reign for all those different uses may not be agreeable,” Beal said.
The city is aiming for a February public hearing on the rezoning request. A hearing scheduled for this week was postponed because of weather and because Crescent asked for a deferral to work on land use issues.
To read the entire story, go to http://www.gastongazette.com/news/industrial-54285-holly-mount.html
