While their concerns about commercial development on Airlie Road were relaxed, neighbors of Dockside Restaurant and Marina said they still had concerns that a proposed rezoning of the lot used for parking at the restaurant could trigger denser development on the street.
Dockside owners are asking the city to rezone 1303 and 1308 Airlie Road to accommodate a project to improve the restaurant’s gravel parking lot, while also creating new single-family home lots. The Wilmington Planning Board is scheduled to review the rezoning request during its Jan. 4 meeting, which occurred after press time for the Jan. 5 edition of Lumina News.
One neighbor of the property, Kevin Parker, said the developers worked with the city of Wilmington’s planning staff and other neighbors to alleviate the concerns over commercial zoning that challenged the project during summer 2016. However, while the use of a special use permit is a better result for neighbors, several are still worried that the denser zoning requested for the project would set a precedent for more density on Airlie Road, Parker said. Additionally, neighbors were also watching another project on Airlie Road that could also increase density and traffic on the street, which is designated a North Carolina scenic byway.
“We’re encouraged that there’s a more reasonable plan,” Parker said. “But we’re concerned about density for the resolution portion.”
In its proposal, the developer requested part of 1308 Airlie Road be rezoned under a special use permit to facilitate the construction of an upgraded parking lot, which is currently unpaved gravel with no lane markings. Dockside owners have said the parking lot needs upgrades for both safety and environmental reasons, but city council members told them to work more with neighbors after they raised objections to rezoning the lot to commercial.
The proposal would also seek to rezone the remaining portion of 1308 Airlie Road, along with 1303 Airlie Road, from its current R-15 residential zoning to R-5, which will allow for more density. In addition to the single-family home already on 1303 Airlie Road, the rezoning would create two single-family residential lots and one accessory apartment in the rear part of 1308 Airlie Road, city zoning documents showed.
Enacting the proposal is a two-step process for the planning board. First, it must approve a change to the city’s code, which would then allow for a special use permit for the property. Both items are on the Wilmington Planning Board’s Jan. 5 agenda. Approval will send it to the Wilmington City Council.
Developers of a separate project on Airlie Road will meet with neighbors in late January to discuss its plans to build a mixed-use residential development on Airlie Road. The proposed Airlie at Wrightsville Sound development will put as many as 72 residential units on the 11-acre property that sits across the street from the entrance to Airlie Gardens.
The property borders the 7.5-acre site on Wrightsville Avenue that was once the Galleria shopping center. Both pieces of property are owned by the State Street Companies, a Charlotte real estate development firm. While the Galleria site is already zoned for urban mixed use, developers of the Airlie Road project are asking the city to rezone those lots from low-density R-15 residential to urban mixed use UMX.
That project could be on the Wilmington Planning Board’s February agenda, a home builder working with the developer said.
Parker said he and other neighbors had concerns that these two projects could represent a “tipping point” regarding density on Airlie Road.
“In Wilmington, Airlie is the ultimate address,” Parker said. “That’s why we’re worried they’re going to try to cram more people in here.”
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