Documents show the Charlotte office of a national developer wants to keep the public away from the shores of Mooresville’s planned Lake Norman waterfront community, despite a city ordinance that allows it.
Lake Norman waterfront developments must make at least 50 percent of their shoreline available to the public, according to Mooresville zoning regulations. That can include docks, boat ramps, kayak/canoe launches, swimming beaches, fishing areas and lookout points.
For decades, the public has been demanding more public access to North Carolina’s largest man-made lake. The lake is known not only for its multimillion-dollar private waterfronts, but also for its public boating, fishing, swimming and hiking opportunities.
This Monday at the Mooresville Board of Adjustment meeting, Mattamy Homes will apply for a public access exemption to the shoreline for the planned 87-family Cascadia at Langtree residential development.
Mattamy Homes is the largest privately held homebuilder in North America, according to its website. The builder has opened or is nearing completion in 13 neighborhoods in Charlotte, including Charlotte, Huntersville, Kannapolis, Mint Hill and Monroe.
A “small portion” of the Mooresville project would be on the lake, Ricky Cypher, a Mooresville planner, told the council in a memo viewed by The Charlotte Observer.
The board can exempt a landowner from the 50 percent requirement if the landowner demonstrates that the mandate would create “an unreasonable and unique burden” “beyond the landowner’s control,” according to the city’s ordinance on public access to the shoreline.
The topography of the site “does not allow for physical access to the waterfront,” according to the developer’s application for the exemption. “However, if it is open to the public, (people) may attempt to gain such unsafe access.”
The 1.5-acre (0.55 hectares) of open space on the property’s shoreline is a viewpoint with “no physical access to Lake Norman,” the application states.
Jerry Whelan is listed as a contact for Mattamy Homes for the project. Whelan told the Observer on Friday that he was forwarding the newspaper’s request for comment to company officials who handle media inquiries.
Mattamy Homes is also seeking a rezoning of the project and wants Mooresville to annex the property, which is in Iredell County just outside the city limits. No dates have been scheduled for the Mooresville Board of Commissioners to consider the requests.
In our Reality Check stories, Charlotte Observer journalists dig deeper into questions of facts, consequences and accountability. Read more. Idea for a story? RealityCheck@charlotteobserver.com.
