Rezoning request postponed

WILMINGTON — A request to rezone ten acres of land at the base of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge was sent back to the Planning Commission at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

John Evans, who owns the land and wants to develop it for the proposed Gateway project, presented the project to the council. People then lined up to express both concerns and support to the council. A main concern is traffic the development would generate.

Norman Robinson lives downtown and said, “We’re concerned about safety because that volume of traffic contributes to safety hazards. We’re concerned about degrading the historic character of that residential area.”

Council member Laura Padgett has been vocal in her opposition of the project. She said, “It’s just an overwhelming size and scale. It would overwhelm any neighborhood in Wilmington. We just don’t have neighborhoods that are clusters of high-rise towers.”

Many people who spoke out, including Padgett, aren’t against development at the site, only the size of the project as it’s presently proposed. The current proposal includes a hotel, condominiums, shops, an extension of the riverwalk and more.

Even after the request was sent back to the Planning Commission, Evans said he was still optimistic. He said, “I’m pleased. Of course I wanted to get it passed tonight but I think I heard the council agree that they’re probably moving toward rezoning, they just want me to improve some of the details.”

The Planning Commission has until the March 4th city council meeting to re-examine the proposal.