Daniel Moser Jr. has all but accepted the probability that a Harris Teeter-anchored shopping center may soon be built next to his high-end home in southeast Gastonia.
Rather than holding out hope of stopping it for the last month, he’s been more focused on minimizing the negative effects, by seeking concessions from the developer. That would include getting MPV Real Estate to build the delivery truck docks farther away from his house, and construct a 15-foot-high brick wall along his property line.
“Our preference would be to not have it at all,” Moser said Monday. “But I told the developer if we can get those things done, we won’t plan to fight it.”
Gastonia City Council members will decide Tuesday whether the project goes through near the intersection of Robinwood and Kendrick roads. The 53,000-square-foot grocery store would allow Harris Teeter’s re-entry into the Gaston County market after a two-year departure.
The Gastonia Planning Commission last month voted unanimously to rezone 9 mostly wooded acres and allow the shopping center’s construction. But Moser filed a protest petition — signed by himself and other surrounding property owners — that will force City Council to make a final decision on the matter.
Because the petition in play, City Council must approve the rezoning by a “supermajority” vote of 5-1 or 6-0. If at least two council members oppose the measure, it will fail.
That same scenario last summer killed a proposal for a larger Harris Teeter-anchored shopping center in the same neighborhood.
Mayor John Bridgeman, a part-time real estate broker, has personal ties to the proposed development and said he will recuse himself from voting.
Moser and his wife own a 2,100-square-foot home and more than an acre of land in a cul-de-sac on Turf Court, which is part of a subdivision around the Gaston Country Club. His land sits to the immediate south of the proposed shopping center site.
Moser said his biggest concern has been the noise trucks would make upon delivering groceries to the store, given his home’s proximity to what would be the back of Harris Teeter. MPV Real Estate has more recently agreed to put the docks closer to Robinwood Road, he said.
The developer initially planned to build a 15-foot brick wall only along a small stretch of land. But plans now are to extend it farther around the grocery store, after Moser said he and other neighbors took issue with the previous design.
“Hopefully that will alleviate some of the noise,” he said. “The developer has been responsive. They’ve been pretty good to work with.”
Moser said he gets the sense City Council members will approve the rezoning for a number of reasons. There aren’t nearly as many people opposing this project, compared to the one proposed last summer, he said.
“My wife and I both feel eventually something’s going to be built on that land,” he said. “Even though it’s too small a space for a large retail development like this, I think if we had the choice of having a nice retail store, it’s probably better than the unknown.”
You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or twitter.com/GazetteMike.
What: Gastonia City Council meeting
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Gaston County Courthouse, 325 N. Marietta St., Gastonia
Why: Council members will hold a public hearing in consideration of rezoning 9 acres near the intersection of Robinwood and Kendrick roads to allow construction of a Harris Teeter-anchored shopping center.