Over 200 residents of Carriage Downs, Freedom Acres, and Gable Oaks showed up Tuesday evening for an information meeting regarding two planned zoning changes to property owned by Ronald Overcash near the I-85 and Poplar Tent Road interchange. The zoning changes are needed in order to accommodate a large mixed use development on the North side of the interchange and the construction of a concrete casting plant off of Shelton Rd. on the South side of Poplar Tent Road and adjacent to residential lots in Gable Oaks, Freedom Acres, and Carriage Downs.
The proposed large mixed use development on the first site will include multiple buildings for office and retail space as well as town homes and two hotels. It is unclear what changes will need to be made to Poplar Tent road in order to accommodate the increased traffic resulting from such a use.
The proposed changes to the second site would rezone property currently approved for agricultural use to heavy industrial. According to the drawings provided by Overcash’s developers, many of the materials, junk and trucks currently stored on site 1 (on the north side of the I-85 interchange) would be moved to site 2. In addition, a concrete casting plant would be built to manufacture large concrete barricades and other concrete structures used in highway construction. The plant would be built on the portion of Overcash’s property located adjacent to residential lots in the Freedom Acre and Gable Oaks subdivisions.
Concerned neighbors had many questions regarding the noise and environmental impact of the proposed concrete plant. Many concerns were also expressed about Mr. Overcash’s past business practices and apparent failures to comply with EPA standards and other state and local regulatory requirements. Several were heard questioning why any confidence should be placed in Overcash to comply with conditional uses here when his past track record seems to indicate a blatant disregard of regulatory requirements. Representatives of Mr. Overcash’s developers were unable to answer these questions and instead referred neighbors to the City of Concord.
The concrete plant is currently located in an industrial area of Charlotte off of North Graham Street. The owner of the concrete plant told concerned neighbors that Mr. Overcash is making this deal with his business to lease the Overcash’s property for free, in exchange for Mr. Overcash receiving an interest in the concrete plant business. The current owner indicated he hoped to retire in a few years and he believes Mr. Overcash is interested in this deal in order to give Mr. Overcash’s son a business to run.
The Poplar Tent Presbyterian Church seems to be interested in approval of the mixed use development as they would benefit from improved property values along Poplar Tent Road, where Mr. Overcash currently stores trucks, equipment, and apparent junk. According to at least one source at the church, the church might also benefit from a land swap associated with the deal.
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Subscribe via E-mail
16 responses so far ↓
1 Gable Oaks Guy // May 7, 2008 at 8:27 am
It is quite obvious that Mr. Overcash blatantly disregards any fines or warnings from the City of Concord. I believe it is time for the city to stand up to him. If Mr. Overcash wants wants to pack up his toys and go elsewhere, let’s help him pack up and kick him in the butt on the way out. The city should not be held hostage to businesses dealings by unethical business men. I certainly hope Mr. Overcash doesn’t think he has the same clout as Bruton Smith.
2 Freedom Acres resident // May 7, 2008 at 3:10 pm
There is nothing like the smell of diesel fuel in the morning… that is the song we will all be singing if this deal goes through. Not to mention going outside to hear the birds singing and inhaling a great big breath of… concrete dust. Oh, and our property values will plummet. We are talking about hundreds, maybe a thousand families that will be directly affected. There is no way they can spin this to make it sound good, and believe me they are trying. I will be very disappointed in our city leaders if they approve this rezoning. We all need to get involved and voice our opposition to this effort. Plan to attend the rezoning hearing on May 20th. By being there, you are making a statement. Strength in numbers.
3 Carriage Downs Resident // May 7, 2008 at 10:25 pm
The bottom line is that the concrete plant DOES NOT BELONG in the middle of a residential area. It just doesn’t fit. There is plenty of other suitable land for a project such as this- and right in the middle of 3 subdivisions isn’t it! Our city would be ignorant to allow a project such as this to get passed. Property values would plummet- and when property values go down, it would be a loss in tax money for the city!
The negative health effects from the dust, pollution, runoff, diesel fumes, and traffic congestion should be reason enough to vote against this project. Hundreds of people will be negatively impacted to satisfy only a few who have other options.
4 Concerned Carriage Downs Resident // May 8, 2008 at 10:09 am
Echoing all the sentiments above, it is inconceivable that they would allow a property owner of Mr. Overcash’s reputation to be the propietor of this industrial operation. We have seen that enforcement of any rules on his properties is a joke. He recognizes no public authority and you cannot convince any of us that for some reason that will now change. His lack of disregard for other property owners and the environment is well documented. As soon as this “pretty-faced” developer has his project in place and moves on, we will be at the mercy of “Boss Hog” Overcash and however he chooses to manage (or mis-manage) this concrete operation. And once it is zoned heavy industrial, who knows what else he will add to the mix over the coming years. There is a lot of other space on that property that he could bring more operations to. Which is why the worst of the plant (the truck lot, the holding pond) are backed right up to residential property. I he and the developer really cared about the community, they would have offered a completely different operation design. Keep up the discussion and make sure the city council and planning commission hear your voices as well!
5 Concerned Carriage Downs Resident. // May 8, 2008 at 12:27 pm
If you want another visual, visit the Concrete plant on McGill and 29. This plant is a good citizen and well run, but I still wouldn’t want it in my backyard. In addition, another of Overcash’s dumping grounds is the corner of Rock Hill Church Road and Poplar Tent. This vacant lot in the middle of an established middle class neighborhood is currently home to piles of asphalt rubble and a log cabin on the back of a truck bed! This is another excellent example of the disregard for other property owners Mr. Overcash is capable of. The property he wants to put the concrete plant on has been recently cleared and prepped for building. Prior to that it was a dump filled with concrete and asphalt debris, rusty tanks, and who knows what else. I have often wondered what type of toxic materials might have been leached into the soil. Can you say superfund site? I just can’t imagine that Overcash will suddenly become a good citizen. Lets just present the facts in a cohesive way so that our city leaders will be compelled to stay out of the pockets of this good-ole boy and do the right thing this time!
6 Gable Oaks Family // May 8, 2008 at 2:12 pm
We have been residents of Concord for 10 years now and own a home in Gable Oaks subdivision, where we not ONLY live, but also work together at our home-based business. Our home is on the dead end street leading directly into the Overcash property, just one house away from this proposed concrete plant. We see the current mess on that property every time we set foot outside our home. We cannot imagine also listening to the sound of a concrete plant all day long as we try to make a living and raise a family in this community. And any promises that are made regarding barriers to the plant cannot be believed…after all, our neighborhood has been promised a berm and landscaping that would block the eye-sore that is currently on the adjacent property for years, when instead we have nothing more than a small hill with no trees or bushes of any kind!
Part of the reason we moved to this area was because we believed that this is a community that cares about the quality of life of those that live here, and there is no way that rezoning an agricultural piece of land that touches 3 neighborhoods to a heavy industrial site will improve our quality of life. In fact, it would make it so much worse! It is a known fact that concrete plants put off the most carbon dioxide of any type of heavy industrial plant. Our family has made a concentrated effort to “green” our home and our life and the thought of our children playing in their own yard and breathing in fumes is just about the most disheartening thought we could imagine. Please do not allow this project to come to fruition.
7 Concerned Concord Citizen // May 8, 2008 at 2:58 pm
I truly believe the City of Concord officials responsible for the decisions surrounding this controversy need to look at Mr. Overcash’s track record of not playing by the rules and thumbing his nose at municipal and governmental authority. Should we as a City reward such bad behavior by giving him what he wants? I certainly hope not.
8 Justin Thibault // May 8, 2008 at 3:07 pm
All - I think it would be more effective if people used their names.
9 Kenneth McClamrock // May 8, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Mr. Overcash and his posse tried a similar stunt in our neighborhood (Brittany Woods) off S. Union St. last year. They had bought a couple of acres and were trying to get it zoned for Section 8 housing. Our neighborhood, while not the likes of Carriage Downs or Gable Oaks, is far from Section 8 housing and we fought them tooth and nail. After two trips downtown with the Zoning Board, and several community meetings, we were able to find a reasonable compromise that the city (who was all in favor of his “lets put more houses on less land so we can get more taxes” plan), our community and Overcash and fiends could agree on.
10 Melanie Moore // May 8, 2008 at 8:29 pm
One of my concerns is that the city might be too eager to get rid of Overcash’s dump eyesore property at the junction of Poplar Tent and I-85 in a land swap deal. My understanding of this situation is also that Mr. Overcash has agreed to sell that dump for development only if he gets the proposed concrete plant property zoned for that use. It seems to me that the best thing the city could do would be to insist that he clean up his dump, regardless of the development plans. I have always found amusing the sign that says “Welcome to Concord” right across the street from that eyesore. I am sorry to say that I have little confidence the city fathers will do the right thing here. It seems that Mr. Overcash has quite a reputation as a scofflaw and nobody in authority has the gumption to get him to clean up his act and be a good citizen.
11 David Sheridan // May 8, 2008 at 10:22 pm
We are residents of the Kings Crossing neighborhood off Poplar Tent Road. We drive by Mr Overcash’s dump at the I-85 exchange on a daily basis. This has continued to be an eyesore for the 6 years that we have lived here. Since we have lived in the area, the local community has grown primarily as a family oriented part of Cabarrus County with neighborhood development, Cannon School, Afton Village, Dorton Park, the YMCA and local shopping to support this community atmosphere. The plan that I have heard about from City of Concord in the past called for development of the Poplar Tent corridor as a “gateway” into Concord, rather than the I85/29 interchange, including greenways and beautification projects. I can think of few things more incongruous with this approach than a concrete plant. This type of heavy industrial development has no place in the community atmosphere that has developed here and that we are all trying to maintain. Obviously, property values would suffer, the traffic on Poplar Tent would be even more congested, pollutants would worsen the already poor air quality of southwest Cabarrus County and, as been previously mentioned in other blogs, the intended site would assuredly deteriorate as has historically been the case with the vast majority of Mr Overcash’s currently run-down properties.
We are already neighbors with the US Tire recycling facility and a quarry, however these companies were present before the majority of the other family oriented development occurred. In addition, these businesses have been good neighbors overall. The Tire Recycling center has a relatively discrete entrance and has not been allowed to deteriorate or become a public embarrassment such as Mr Overcash’s dumping ground.
We as citizens and the Zoning Board representing the City of Concord need to stand tall for what is right for development in our area to continue to make southwest Cabarrus County an attractive, healthy and safe area to raise our families.
12 Angie Trapp // May 9, 2008 at 7:59 am
The Cabarrus County Commerce website defines a General Industrial (I-2) zone: “…This district is intended to provide a location for both light and heavy industrial uses in a zoning district in which the potential for nuisance complaints from nearby properties is minimized.” The Real Estate dictionary defines “nuisance” as: “A land use whose associated activities are incompatible with surrounding land uses. Example: Zoning laws and private Deed Restrictions are used to prevent the development of nuisances, such as:
• activities that produce noxious fumes or air pollution in residential areas
• commercial uses that generate large volumes of automobile traffic in residential areas
• junkyards in highly visible areas…”
That sounds pretty clear to me. The definition of an I-2 zone alone should keep anyone from voting for this, since I can’t think of a worse nuisance than a concrete plant and diesel trucks in my backyard.
13 Karen Byrd // May 9, 2008 at 9:46 am
Ditto to all written above.
Add to that the follwoing:
For any elected officials who may be reviewing this blog, PLEASE do the right thing for our community. If this rezoning is passed and if the City doesn’t get a handle on Mr. Overcash’s disregard for this community, I will simply not be able to support any of you with my vote in the future.
14 Lynn M. Hammers // May 9, 2008 at 10:56 am
Please do not forget the effect dozens of townhomes and the construction of two hotels will have on the infrastructure of our community: roads (widening, wear and tear during construction), bridges (over I-85, not to mention the already out-dated plan for the bridge next to Cannon School/Dorton Park), increased traffic flow over-all (off and on ramps, in front of a school, getting in and out of any of the 3 neighborhoods on Poplar Tent, during rush hour, during widening of I-85,…), schools (already over-crowded), water use (aren’t we still experiencing a water shortage? Think about the use of natural resources from 2 hotels, many homes and a construction factory!), and impact on the environment (Coddle Creek, caustic chemicals leaching into the soil and aquifers, air quality which is already poor close to the tire factory,…). It’s simply staggering to consider the effects these propsed developements will have on our community/homes/families! Surely there is a better way to utilize the land AND for the land-owner to make money. Perhaps some forward thinking on the part of our elected officials, too. Hmmm.
15 Denise Spreen // May 9, 2008 at 11:16 pm
I have been a resident of Carriage Downs and now Gable Oaks for a total of 15 years. When the city of Concord annexed all this property, they promised the residents that the city’s stricter zoning codes would protect us from this type of business activity in a residential area.
Mr. Overcash has personally profited from the building of each of our homes through his grading business. His track record is published annually on the delinquent tax rolls. Mr. Overcash has publicly stated his disrespect for those of us who were not graced to be born in Cabarrus county (I am deliverately cleaning up the quote here!). Mr. Overcash is not to be trusted, period. No rezoning, period.
16 Mark Dayvault (Freedom Acres) // May 9, 2008 at 11:25 pm
As an resident that has property that adjoins the proposed “Precast concrete plant” site, I hope that all of the city officials will put themselves in our shoes and imagine how horrible it would be to wake up and look out their windows every morning only to see concrete trucks coming in and out all day long. Just imagine the sound of a rock crusher every morning at 7:00 am. Would that be the sound that you would want to wake up to every morning? Speaking of rock crushers, it is my understanding that a Precast plant is a facility that uses forms to make a final product. In the plan that was presented to the property owners it has an area designated for a rock and cement crusher and screening plant recycled materials and another area designated for Asphault and concrete Aggregate stock pile area. Is this a Redi-Mix plant or a precast plant? Looks like the ground work is already being laid for this to be more than what the city is expecting. If this is passed, there is no telling what the City of Concord will have to pay down the road in legal fees to keep this under control. Please do the right thing and do not let this zoning change so that all of the residents in the 3 adjoining neighborhoods can continue to have pride in our wonderful comunity.
Leave a Comment