Quail Corners Re-Zoning Update March 2011

In an effort to keep everyone up to date on the Quail Corners Re-Zoning situation, we are reaching out to you with a quick recap of developments, facts, and important dates.

In January, 5 members of PQNC spoke before the Charlotte City Council in protest of Crosland’s re-zoning petition. Both sides were given 10 minutes to speak and a fairly lengthy question and answer session with council members followed. If you did not see this meeting in person or on TV, you can find the January 18 City Council Zoning Meeting video online at: www.charmeck.org/city/charlotte/CityCouncil/meetings/Pages/default.aspx

It was clearly conveyed by multiple city council members that they too have reservations about a fast food restaurant being sited at the Quail Corners property, for a variety of reasons.

The next step of the process is for the Zoning Committee to hold a meeting and make a recommendation to the council. The City Council would then vote to approve or not approve the zoning change request.

Crosland, with our support, requested and has been granted a deferral for another month. The QC Zoning Committee work session is now scheduled for March 30, 2011. The City Council meeting at which a vote on whether to approve or not is now scheduled for April 25, 2011. The Park Quail Coalition will send out information on attending these meetings the week prior to each.

City Council members, including our representative Andy Dulin, went on record encouraging Crosland to ‘go back to the table’ with concerned area residents (PQNC members) and try and come up with a plan that both sides can agree to.

In February, Crosland requested a meeting with the five of us who spoke at the city council meeting, to show us three new plans they had drawn up of potential remodels of Quail Corners. Unfortunately, all three plans still include a fast food restaurant with drive thru window. We walked away from that meeting with no resolution, but some additional information.

At that meeting, Crosland told us that the two restaurant chains interested in Quail Corners are McDonalds and Chick-Fil-A. We have been able to do some research on the likelihood of Chick-Fil-A putting a restaurant at QC. We have been told it is not their first choice; they are pursuing a different location at 51 and Carmel Road. It is most likely that McDonalds would be the fast food restaurant we would end up with, keeping in mind that once a zoning change is made any fast food restaurant (KFC, Taco Bell, etc.) could go there, and the actual franchise could change at any point in the future.

Crosland has told our group that without a fast food drive thru restaurant, they may not be able to do the full renovation to Quail Corners. There is debate, even within our coalition, as to the veracity of this statement. We know that commercial lending money is hard to come by in these economic times, but we also know that Crosland cannot afford to leave the center as is with a lot of empty un-leasable space. We also know that Harris Teeter wants to increase its store size and remodel (they would be paying for their own renovations) and they are the most profitable tenant for Crosland at Quail Corners. It is in Crosland’s best interest to keep them happy.

A few rumors have been floating out there, and we feel it is important to provide the facts to our community. One rumor has been that Harris Teeter will close that location if Crosland doesn’t renovate (if they don’t get a fast food drive thru). This is NOT TRUE. The Quail Corners location is one of HT’s most lucrative and profitable stores. At NO time has HT they said they will leave that space without the full remodel. However, we know that Crosland will have to put some sort of renovation plan to Charlotte City Council during this process. In order for Harris Teeter to reconfigure and expand, a zoning approval must occur.

Shortly after our meeting with Crosland, Mary Settlemyre called a meeting of the Park Quail Coalition. We only had about 10 people in attendance representing 7 neighborhoods. It is very important that we get a response from all interested neighborhoods in the Park Quail Neighborhood Coalition as to where they stand on the issue at this time.

We will be drafting a brief survey we would like you to participate in. Look for that to arrive next week.