Huntersville neighbors organize against an 18-bay car wash and gas station planned for Statesville Road

Residents of The Hamptons neighborhood in Huntersville are organizing to stop a proposed car wash, gas station, convenience store and lube and detail shop on nearly five acres of Statesville Road, about a mile from Sam Furr Road, WBTV reported on October 2. The project needs a rezoning, and the first public hearing is set for Monday, November 2.

The developer is Jake Palillo of Bi-Part Development, according to WFAE. The rezoning would change the land from residential to highway commercial, WSOC reported.

What is proposed

The plans, as described by WSOC, WFAE and a website the neighbors built to oppose the project, call for several buildings on the site:

• A tunnel car wash with 18 outdoor vacuum bays.
• A convenience store with gas pumps. WSOC reported four pumps, and the residents’ website lists eight.
• A lube and detail building of about 16,000 square feet, according to WFAE.
• A 12-foot wall in place of some of the trees between the site and nearby homes, WBTV reported.

The residents’ website, which goes by the case number R26-13, lists the convenience store at 6,437 square feet, the lube and detail building at 16,817 square feet and the car wash tunnel at 5,728 square feet. Those figures come from the opponents and had not been confirmed by the town in published reports.

What neighbors say

John and Kelsey Huffman, who moved to the neighborhood in 2020 and whose home backs up to the property, are leading the opposition. Kelsey Huffman created the website, and John Huffman told WSOC he had talked with 66 families in the area and found unanimous opposition.

The neighbors’ concerns, as laid out on their website and in interviews with WBTV, WSOC and WFAE:

• Noise from the car wash equipment and vacuums, and the hours the business would run.
• Traffic and access on Statesville Road.
• Buffers between the site and homes shrinking from 30 feet to 20 feet, with a gas station about 40 feet from one neighbor’s fence, according to WFAE.
• Commercial lighting, stormwater runoff and drainage.
• Groundwater, because homes nearby rely on wells.

John Huffman questioned whether the project fits the town’s 2040 plan, WSOC reported, and said the need for a large retaining wall and sound barrier suggests the site is the wrong place for it. The Huffmans have said they are not against all development, only this mix of uses next to houses, WBTV reported. About 20 neighbors had joined them by the time of WFAE’s report, which was produced with Ashley Fahey of The Charlotte Ledger. Kelsey Huffman questioned whether safeguards such as walls and buffers would work as promised, WBTV reported.

What the developer says

Palillo described the project to WBTV as a full-service, state-of-the-art car wash and detail center and said “there isn’t anything like it in Huntersville or within 25 miles of it.” He also told WBTV that only four homes adjoin the property. He declined an on-camera interview with WSOC and said by email that the project is a new concept that adds value, according to WSOC.

Palillo told WFAE he intends to move forward with the rezoning and follow the town’s process. He told The Charlotte Ledger he gets “attacked nonstop” over his proposals, V101.9 reported, citing the Ledger.

Statesville Road is changing too

The site sits on a stretch of Statesville Road, also U.S. 21, that the state plans to rebuild. The N.C. Department of Transportation’s U.S. 21 widening covers the road between Gilead Road and Westmoreland Road through Huntersville and Cornelius, according to NCDOT. The project details:

• Additional travel lanes with a center median, plus bicycle and pedestrian accommodations.
• New intersection designs, including work at U.S. 21 and Gilead Road.
• A diverging diamond interchange at Interstate 77 and Gilead Road and a split diamond interchange at I-77 and N.C. 73.
• Combined estimated costs of about $222.7 million: $135.5 million for U-5767 north of N.C. 73 and $87.2 million for U-5771 south of it, mostly for property and utilities.

NCDOT has not posted construction dates for the widening. The residents’ website lists site access during the road changes among their traffic concerns.

Palillo’s other projects

The Statesville Road plan is one of about a dozen Palillo projects in various stages across Huntersville and Cornelius, according to the Ledger’s reporting. Several have met resistance:

• Lagoona Bay, an $800 million project, collapsed in 2023 after a series of setbacks.
• The BoatYard site in Cornelius, a similar car wash and gas station project, did not advance past an early pre-submittal meeting, WFAE reported.
• An inn styled after the English countryside in Cornelius won approval despite opposition from residents, WFAE reported.

Key dates

The rezoning goes through three public meetings before a final decision. The schedule, from WSOC, WBTV and the residents’ website:

• Monday, November 2, at 6 p.m.: Public hearing.
• Wednesday, November 18, at 6:30 p.m.: Planning Board review and recommendation.
• Tuesday, December 15, at 6 p.m.: Town board final action.

A community meeting for questions and feedback was held on Tuesday, September 29, before the formal hearings began, according to WSOC. No vote is taken at a community meeting.

At the public hearing, residents and the developer can speak before any vote is taken. The Planning Board then makes a recommendation, and the town board makes the final decision on whether the land is rezoned.

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