Traffic concerns prompt Lake Norman area board to delay vote on dozens of townhomes
Traffic concerns prompted the Mooresville Board of Commissioners to delay ruling Monday night on 50 townhomes proposed by national builder D.R. Horton near Interstate 77 Brawley School Road exit 35.
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Commissioners voted 5-1 to table a vote on a rezoning for the proposed North Gibbs Townhomes subdivision and to reconsider the measure on April 19.
Commissioners said that should give the developer time for a traffic impact analysis and to consider another way for drivers to access the development – off North Gibbs Road instead of the narrow streets of the neighboring, longtime Sunridge Place community.
The Town Board also wants the developer to add 5% or 10% attainable housing compared with none currently proposed. That’s housing affordable to teachers, police officers, firefighters and others.
Commissioner Eddie Karriker said he couldn’t support the project without a better traffic plan. Commissioners also asked Assistant Town Manager Ryan Rase to try again with the North Carolina Department of Transportation to allow right-in, right-out access at Brawley School Road and North Gibbs Road. That could provide the alternate entrance at least some commissioners seem to prefer.
“They’ve told us no at least twice since I’ve been here,” Rase told the commissioners.
NCDOT has denied the requests because the southbound ramp from exit 35 onto I-77 is there, town officials said. The North Gibbs Road right-in, right-out access would be along the Brawley School Road exit lane onto the southbound I-77 ramp.
The developer also proposes gated access along North Gibbs Road into its development for emergency vehicles only. More land would be needed for the road to meet state standards so other drivers could use it, too, said Jeff Brown, a lawyer with project consultant Moore & Van Allen.
The developer doesn’t own the additional right-of-way that would be needed along North Gibbs, he said.
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Brown said he understands the concerns of Sunridge Place residents, but he said the project fits with the surrounding area of mainly residential communities. He said it’s a relatively small project that’s consistent with the town’s zoning plan.
The project would be on 6.34 acres and include what Brown called two large areas of open space totaling 1.5 acres.
Several opponents drew applause when they cited safety and other concerns.
Homeowners in the proposed North Gibbs Townhomes subdivision would use narrow, car lined streets in Sunridge Place to access Silver Hook Drive and Brawley School Road near the exit.
That part of Sunridge Place lacks sidewalks, and children walk in the streets to their bus stop at Silver Hook Drive. They also play in the streets, said Ron Berst, who lives in the nearby Gibbs Cove subdivision on Lake Norman. His daughter and two granddaughters live in Sunridge Place.
The school bus picks children up at 6:45 a.m., and the sun doesn’t rise until that time from Aug. 19 through April 19, he said.
“This is a very big safety issue,” Berst told the commissioners.
To Mooresville resident Lynne Taylor, cramming more homes into a town with notoriously clogged roads is a concern.
“We don’t have to occupy every shred of space in this town,” Taylor told the commissioners.
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This story was originally published October 20, 2026 at 1:34 PM.
