Newly remade Huntersville board eyes downtown development
Growth and development issues in Huntersville reached a fever pitch in 2023.
A major expansion of Birkdale Village was rejected by the town’s board of commissioners after staunch opposition at public meetings. An ambitious plan for a members-only beach club and surrounding residential community was withdrawn after months of tense public debate. And those matters took center stage in a town facing an election in November that guaranteed changes on the board of commissioners and in the mayor’s chair.
In November, former Democratic North Carolina General Assembly lawmaker Christy Clark was elected mayor over two sitting town commissioners in Dan Boone and Derek Partee. Six new commissioners were elected to the town board, defeating sitting members Rob Kidwell and Amber Kovacs, among others, while incumbent commissioners Lance Munger and Stacy Phillips opted not to run for reelection. The previous mayor, Melinda Bales, did not seek reelection and is running for state house.
ALSO READ: Monroe denies rezoning, annexation of housing development
A new crop of elected officials will confront the growing pains in a town that’s seen explosive population growth over the last three decades. Major development matters loom in 2024. Clark and the new commissioners must balance continued growth with the town’s struggling infrastructure. Huntersville is also a town in search of its identity.
One priority of the new administration has become clear in its early days.
“Our downtown has just sort of been overlooked as time has gone on just because we’ve had so much growth in housing and residential communities and not so much business growth in downtown,” Clark said. “That is where I think we will be turning our focus.”
Read more here.
VIDEO: Monroe denies rezoning, annexation of housing development
