The discussion will be a continuation of planning board review of a rezoning request submitted by Carolinas HealthCare System to build the facility on the site of the old Huntersville Oaks at the corner of N.C. 115 and Verhoeff Drive. Following the planning board session, the Huntersville Town Board is scheduled to make a final ruling on the issue at its meeting on Monday, March 5.
At its last meeting in late January, following a lengthy discussion of the proposal, the planning board and CHS representatives agreed to defer a decision on the item until the board's next meeting.
CHS is seeking a rezoning, from Neighborhood Residential to Campus Institutional/Conditional District, on its 17.5-acre tract. CHS wants to build a 66-bed, 68,000-square-foot psychiatric hospital on the site with a 10,000-square-foot outpatient clinic. Eventually, if beds are approved by the state and construction is pursued, the site could expand to a 113,000-square-foot project with 110 beds and a free-standing 30,000-square-foot medical office building.
Some residents have voiced opposition to CHS plans, most notably residents of the Monteith Place subdivision on the northern border of the proposed hospital site, who packed the Huntersville Town Board's two-part public hearing on the matter and were again noticeably involved in the planning board's discussion. The residents have expressed concerns about safety issues, traffic congestion and the impact the facility could have on their property values.
The continuation of the planning board's review of the issue, according to chairman Bruce Andersen, was triggered primarily by a discussion involving the future of Lottingly Drive. The unfinished road inside Monteith Place, originally designed as a connector road into the neighboring property and eventually to Verhoeff, is now barricaded near the edge of the subdivision. It would be extended to Verhoeff as part of CHS' overall construction project.
The planning board wants CHS to consider not connecting the road, which would be diametrically opposed to established town policy and the town's overall goals of connectivity between developments.
In addition to the road and connectivity policy questions, planning department staff has met numerous times with CHS officials to iron out other details related to the proposed project. The size and type of buffer between the proposed hospital and Monteith Place has been a regular discussion topic, as well as ways to enhance the curb appeal of the facility. At the Jan. 16 town board meeting, CHS proposed a six-foot wall along two-thirds of the Monteith property line in addition to detailed landscaping plantings, and unveiled new drawings showing added architectural touches to the road frontage portions of the proposed buildings.
CHS representatives have also met directly with Monteith Place representatives and distributed an information packet throughout the subdivision, outlining overall plans for the facility. Hospital representatives were also scheduled to take part in a Thursday, Feb. 9, meeting with parents at Lake Norman Charter Middle School. The 6:30 p.m. meeting was scheduled to give parents and school officials the opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns about the proposed facility's proximity to the school, which is on N.C. 115 just south of Monteith Place.
