Hidden Valley residents rally to block triplex development

HIDDEN VALLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

The Hidden Valley Community Association will sue to block construction of a triplex by enforcing deed restrictions limiting residential housing to single-family units.

A coalition of Hidden Valley residents and activists are taking on triplex construction.

The Hidden Valley Community Association and Historic Black Neighborhood Coalition will hold a press conference Oct. 3 at Parkwood Institutional CME Church on Tom Hunter Road to announce legal action for enforcement of deed restrictions and stop a triplex development underway in the neighborhood. The residents contend the lawsuit is to preserve the character, history, and quality of life of the north Charlotte neighborhood.

“This is bigger than one building or one property,” Hidden Valley Community Association president Marjorie Parker said in a statement. “Hidden Valley residents have invested in this community for generations. We are not opposed to thoughtful growth and redevelopment, but we believe that growth should respect the commitments homeowners relied upon, the character of the neighborhood and the people who have made Hidden Valley home.”

Hidden Valley, developed in 1959 by George Goodyear, was originally a predominantly white middle-class neighborhood. With the advent of fair housing laws in  the 1960s, more Black residents moved in and white homeowners left. Today it is mostly Black and Latino but is in transition as developers transform the area due to its proximity to the city’s light rail platform. 

Before the public investment in transit, the community struggled with a longstanding reputation as a hot spot for crime and hobbled by decades of disinterest and neglect by city leaders. 

The neighborhood, with approximately 4,500 homes situated about 5 miles from Center City, is one of Charlotte’s largest single-family developments. It’s bordered by West Sugar Creek Road and North Tryon Street.

The neighborhood association is suing to stop the development of duplexes and triplexes in traditionally single-family neighborhoods after application of the city’s Unified Development Ordinance. Hidden Valley residents assert that existing deed restrictions in some areas limit construction to single-family development and should be enforced.

“Preserving Black history also means preserving the communities where that history was made and where families continue to build their lives,” said Bobby Drakeford, a member of the Historic Black Neighborhood Coalition's steering committee. “We are standing with Hidden Valley because residents should not have to fight alone to protect the homes, history, and neighborhood character their community has built over decades.”

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