Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Annexation and zoning of a 77-acre tract of land was approved by Albemarle City Council on Monday, marking the initial step toward the third phase of the Morgan Hills project.
Zoning of the tract, a mandatory step when property is annexed, led to a lengthy discussion among council members, who eventually passed a zoning designation of R-15 for the tract, a less dense zoning classification than the subdivision’s first two phases, both of which are zoned R-10.
Kim Faulkner of Marlbrook Drive expressed her opposition to the annexation request during the required public hearing.
“The developer of Morgan Hills has not been a good neighbor,” Faulkner charged, citing noise, dust, water runoff and increased traffic as nuisances created by the adjacent construction.
Since Marlbrook Drive has been converted to a through street connecting with Morgan Hills, delivery trucks often use the road as a cut-through, she said.
“We’ve had these trucks back up into our front yard to turn around,” Faulkner stated.
Councilman Chris Bramlett questioned whether the city could support the volume of residents the Morgan Hills development would house once completed.
“When I was in Concord, the economic development director there told me his job was to provide a family support job for every new house that came into Cabarrus County,” he recalled. “I know some of these people will be commuting to Charlotte, but when we talk of this many homes, it just doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Mayor Pro-Tem Martha Sue Hall intervened, stating that annexation was the topic under consideration.
“This is not the development that’s before us, it’s just the annexation,” she said.
“It’s a package deal,” replied Bramlett.
“No, this is annexation that is up to begin with,” Hall countered. “We can then make the decision on how to zone it.”
Upon vote, the annexation request passed 4-3, with Bramlett in opposition, along with Councilmen Bill Aldridge and David Hunt.
With the next step in the process being that of zoning the tract, council members asked Planning and Development Services Director Kevin Robinson to summarize zoning options that could be considered, as well as explain the concept of “clustering.”
Robinson explained zoning designations R-4, R-O, R-6, R-8, R-10, and R-15 to the council, noting that R-10 is the most prevalent zoning designation within the city.
“Probably 50% of the residential zoning in the city is R-10,” he said, adding that the first two phases of Morgan Hills fall under that category.
Robinson then summarized “clustering.”
“You get the same number of lots that you were able to have under regular zoning, but you can reduce the lot size up to 50%. Any remainder must be preserved as open space in the development,” he said.
“Can Council adopt R-10 zoning without a cluster option?” asked Mayor Ronnie Michael.
“No,” replied Robinson. “Clustering can be applied to any zoning done for residential purposes.”
Councilman Benton Dry expressed concern over the lack of separation between houses built as part of Morgan Hills’ first phase
“It’s frightening to me,” Dry said. “I mean, the fire department’s 2.8 miles away and the houses are wood and vinyl and only 15 feet apart. I’m for anything that would expand it — that to me is the most important thing that we can do for the safety of people and betterment of housing in Albemarle.”
Robinson explained that phase one of the project was underway before clustering regulations were changed to limit lot reduction to 50%.
“You could reduce lot size as far as you wanted to (under the previous regulations),” he noted.
“There wasn’t anything limiting that, and there were also some open space requirements that were not really clear. So we added all that into the ordinance at that time.”
Discussion continued, with Dry eventually offering a motion to zone the tract R-15, which would require a minimum lot size of 15,000 square feet, and which could be reduced to 7,500 square feet with clustering. The motion was seconded by Hall, and passed by the same 4-3 vote, with Aldridge, Bramlett and Hunt opposed.
In other business,
• The council honored Karen Cranford for her work with the Albemarle ABC Commission.
• Received an audit report on the city’s ABC system from CPA Durham Lewis.
• Approved road closures for the 2024 Albemarle Christmas Parade on Dec. 14.
The next meeting of Albemarle City Council will take place on Nov. 4 at City Hall.

Toby Thorpe is a freelance writer for The Stanly News & Press.