Over the past couple of years, nonprofit Community Housing Partners of Christiansburg, Va., has spent about $2 million to rehabilitate the 73-unit Oak Hill Apartments, a complex of low-income apartments just west of North Main Street. On Monday, residents and officials cut a ribbon to celebrate the end of that work, which preserved the town’s largest affordable rental housing property. Read the full story and see photos in REAL ESTATE & HOME»

Davidson’s Town Board will vote Tuesday night on the proposed $8.9 million budget for 2012-13. Commissioners also are expected to vote on new rules governing “extraordinary events,” parades, protests and camping on public property – changes the town manager says are inspired by the Occupy movement and this summer’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. This week also brings a planning workshop for the Exit 30 area and meetings of the Lake Norman Marine Commission and Lake Norman Transportation Commission. Read the full story

The Oak Hill Apartments are low-income housing off Beaty Street (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Town officials and the owners of the 73-unit Oak Hill Apartments off Beaty Street will cut a ribbon Monday morning to mark the long-awaited completion of renovations at the low-income apartment complex. The project has been five years in the making, and with town, state and federal help, has helped preserve one of the town’s few affordable rental housing options. Read the full story

The wall of Summit Coffee on South Main Street could be the first to get a mural if the new rules are approved. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Davidson is in the midst of revising its planning rules to allow for wall murals downtown, and the first one could show up on the south wall of the building that houses Summit Coffee. But that project, announced at the May 22 Town Board meeting, is still just an idea and faces a variety of hurdles, from funding to design approval. Read the full story

Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce members have hit their goal of raising $71,500 to pay for construction of a Habitat for Humanity House for a family in Cornelius. The group hit the target thanks to a recent fund-raising party and last-minute pledges from local businesses, according to Denis Bilodeau, chair of the chamber board’s community affairs division. See REAL ESTATE & HOME»

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Davidson’s Town Board voted 4-1 Tuesday night to revise the town’s development approval process in a move some town officials said would make it “more predictable” for developers. The vote came after a lengthy debate and discussion with citizens, some concerned that it would reduce public involvement in planning decisions.

The 4 hour and 47 minute meeting included a presentation and public hearing about the $9.3 million town budget for 2012-13 and a presentation by Carolinas HealthCare System officials about a planned mental health hospital off N.C. 73. The board also adopted a new ordinance limiting and regulating the use of golf carts and utility vehicles in town. Read the full story

To the editor:

Last week’s announcement at the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce that Carolinas HealthCare System plans to build a 66-bed behavioral health hospital in Davidson was welcome. While it could be argued the former site in Huntersville was appropriate given the dramatic increase in the population of that area, the new site, with its easy access to both I-77 and I-85, may prove to be more accessible for our region. Read the full story

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Davidson commissioners are scheduled to vote Tuesday on a proposal to overhaul – and streamline – the town’s development approval process in a move designed to make it easier for developers. The board also will hold public hearings on the proposed 2012-13 budget, ordinance changes governing outdoor wall murals, changes in the conditional planning area approval process, and an ordinance spelling out how golf carts and utility vehicles can operate on local streets.

Also on the agenda is a presentation by Carolinas HealthCare System on its plan to build a $36 million, 66-bed mental health hospital on the former Davidson East site, off N.C. 73. Commissioners also will hear a presentation about results of the town’s recent citizen survey and will hear from Mary Anne Hammond, chair of the Committee on Aging. And they’ll vote on a budget amendment that will help fund a shortfall at the MI-Connection Communications System. Read the full story