DavidsonNews.net

Uncertainty about the future of a fragile wetland in the Summer’s Walk subdivision ended Wednesday night when Mecklenburg County commissioners voted to spend $4.27 million to buy 90 acres off N.C. 73 east of town. Mecklenburg County Parks & Recreation Department is considering building a $5 million regional nature center nearby.

The purchase includes the main 23-acre wetland, plus additional land around it that had been slated for development. The sale is expected to close by Nov. 1, Davidson Planning Director Kris Krider said this morning.

“We’re thrilled that this has happened,” Mr. Krider said. “It’s been in the works for two years.”

The town and the Davidson Lands Conservancy had been studying how to preserve a total of 56 acres near the West Branch of the Rocky River east of Davidson. Biologists who have studied the site, including Davidson College professor Michael Dorcas, consider the land an ecologically significant natural resource. It is home to salamanders, turtles, beavers, and other wildlife.

The conservancy cheered the news in an email to supporters Wednesday night. The organization had been raising money and negotiating with developer FC Summers Walk LLC over the past year to buy the parcel, plus land around it, near the West Branch of the Rocky River. But that effort came to a halt recently when the county stepped in with its own purchase plan.

“Fortunately, there was money available in the county’s open space bonds. The county real estate and parks folks recognized the significance of the land and were willing to go the extra mile for this,” said Roy Alexander, executive director of the Davidson Lands Conservancy.

200 FEWER HOMES

The deal means FC Summers Walk will scale back construction plans around the wetland, reducing the number of homes to be built by about 200, from the original 572, Mr. Krider said. He said the developer likely would be happy with the sale, given the current slowdown in the housing.

“The developer should be grateful for this opportunity to get out of a situation to build out the full master plan that was approved,” Mr. Krider said. “The market was dictating a very slow process.”

With such a major change in the scope of the project, the Town Board on Tuesday, Sept. 9, will vote on a revised master plan for the project, Mr. Krider said.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

April 7, 2007, DavidsonNews.net, “In the news: saving a wetland.”

Filed under: Environment, Living with Growth, Parks & Rec, Planning & Development, Public safety