CHARLOTTE—The owners of Jackalope Jack's in Charlotte are the latest beneficiaries of too much growth in the Carolinas.
North Carolina expects a 20 percent population increase in the next 20 years.
That’s spurring more apartments and mixed-use projects like the one planned for 7th Street in Charlotte.
Owner Rob Nixon says he expects to be in business at least another year after the zoning board sent developers back to the drawing board for that project.
Zoning board member Patsy Kinsey says the design is too high and doesn't include enough parking to cope with the increasing neighborhood traffic.
Nixon says the block has been up for rezoning for a long time, and Jackalope’s won't close until they have to.
“Last May we were told, 'Hey this is the last year, last couple months, you're done.' There was a newspaper article that said, Elizabeth being rezoned, Jackalope's closing. It's a year and seven months later. We've been playing this see-saw game solidly since 2007,” he said.
Some other communities are going farther in the fight against rapid development.
York County in South Carolina banned new housing Monday according to the Herald.
Last year, Pittsboro residents sued to stop a 7,000 acre-development.
They lost that case.
Nixon thinks it could be a year or longer for the developers of the 7th Street project to get close to construction.
He says they’re ready to move Jackalope Jacks to the back end of their other bar, the Rabbit Hole, if it the rezoning goes through.