Orthodontist in Huntersville NC

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Colonial Pipeline has announced that a permit they were seeking for a water treatment system near a massive gas leak site has been approved.

The approval comes nearly three years since the leak was discovered in the Oehler Nature Preserve near Huntersville-Concord Road and Asbury Chapel Road.

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On August 14, 2020, two teens discovered the leak. The Colonial Pipeline, which runs from Texas to New Jersey, has a path that takes it straight through the Charlotte area.

Colonial has said a ‘through-wall crack’ in the pipeline, a section of which was replaced following the leak’s discovery, led to the gas seeping out.

While initially estimated to be tens of thousands of gallons, Colonial’s ultimate estimation of the amount of gas leaked was 2,000,000 gallons.

As of March 2023, approximately 1,753,111 gallons had been recovered.

Colonial has placed a number of monitoring and recovery wells at the site of the leak. Monitoring wells continue to show benzene levels, a fuel component, to be thousands of times what would be considered normal.

The approval of the plant allows Colonial to address a growing problem with the cleanup — the fact that the gas has seeped lower into the ground than initially thought and has been in contact with groundwater.

Since the leak’s discovery, the company has pumped the mixture of gas and water out and trucked it away from the site to be separated out.

However, the plant would now allow the mixture of water and gas to be recovered on site, with water going back out into nearby Cane Creek.

Colonial has previously said the treatment plant, if approved, would speed up recovery and would be there for the length of the remediation.

Colonial Pipeline has faced intense criticism for the leak from Huntersville residents since 2020. Queen City News spoke extensively with people who live near the site, some of whom have since moved away as a result of the clean-up process.

Many people are worried about the long-term effects on well water systems. Colonial has noted that the leak has not affected the testing of nearby well-water systems.

Colonial Pipeline officials have continuously stated that they “remained committed to protecting public health and safety.”

In a statement on the approval of the on-site treatment plant, Colonial Pipeline said:

“Colonial appreciates NCDEQ’s thorough permit review and decision, which will enable us to speed up product recovery, limit underground migration, and minimize truck traffic on public roadways. Our focus remains on safely recovering product and remediating the site, and we will continue working closely with environmental agencies and local leaders to ensure our operations meet or exceed regulatory requirements.”

NCDOT says it made changes to the intersection of Mount Holly-Huntersville Road in Huntersville

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (WBTV) - It’s a traffic story WBTV has been covering since last November, and now there is an update.

After a lot of complaints from drivers and its own investigation, NCDOT says it made changes to the intersection of Mount Holly-Huntersville Road and Hambright Road in Huntersville. NCDOT now says that since it made changes there, it has received no complaints from drivers.

“I’ve definitely seen a lot of close calls, I’ve definitely been a part of them sometimes,” driver Tara Peace said in November.

“We take these very seriously, so it is a top priority for us,” said NCDOT division 10 traffic engineer Zach Gardner said in November.

NCDOT concluded that change was needed.

“We have made some updates late last year based on the traffic volumes at the intersection – they were high enough to warrant some modifications,” NCDOT told WBTV. “Previously on Mt. Holly Huntersville, vehicles would have a green light to go through. Now, drivers have a flashing yellow arrow to yield to oncoming traffic when turning left, or a protected green arrow to turn left. There will also be a protected right turn for drivers coming from side streets to Mt. Holly Huntersville.”

Has it helped? Drivers had mixed reactions to that question.

“Actually yeah,” said Devin Palmer. “See, as of right now as of 12 o’clock everybody is getting ready to go to lunch and there’s no line there right now, so, guess so.”

“The changes that they’ve made haven’t really affected it,” said driver Donna Harris. “It’s still a dangerous intersection. The problem is they don’t have the turn lanes…until they have turn lanes, it’s going to be a nightmare.”

It is a very busy intersection, more so during the school year with several schools and new neighborhoods within a mile. More development is on the way, too, and that will mean more traffic.

Donna Harris is hopeful that the scope of the development and the added traffic will mean even more changes could be on the way to this intersection.

“I think it’s going to be absolutely fantastic once these new developments get off the ground here. There’s several slated pretty much for all the corners plus the new distribution center and CATS terminal over there,” Harris said. “Yes there’s going to be more traffic but that also means they are going to correct the roads properly to be able to handle more people.”

NCDOT added that for now, no more changes are planned, but added “if any development happens in the future, that may change.”

Copyright 2023 WBTV. All rights reserved.

A Lake Norman developer will lay out plans to the community next week for an $800-million mixed-use community in Huntersville featuring a 40-acre “modern lifestyle beach resort” with a 10-acre freshwater lagoon.

The “crown jewel” of the private-membership Lagoona Bay Beach Club will be the tropical-style lagoon, surrounded by beaches, sun lounges and green spaces, Cornelius developer Jake Palillo said.

The development will spread east of Interstate 77 Huntersville exit 25 along N.C. 73/Sam Furr Road, Westmoreland Road, Black Farms Road and McCord Road, town planning documents show.

The tract is more than five times the size of Huntersville’s iconic Birkdale Village mixed-use community off the other side of the exit.

“It’s an amazing, exciting project,” Palillo told The Charlotte Observer on Wednesday.

The club will be within a planned 270-acre residential development on Sam Furr Road that will include 250 custom, single-family homes. Other properties in the development will house 320 luxury apartments, 200 town homes and 412 luxury condos, according to the developer’s plans.

Created with patented technology licensed from Miami-based Crystal Lagoons, the Huntersville lagoon will be “sustainable and eco-friendly,” using up to 100 times fewer chemicals and just 2% of the energy required by a conventional swimming pool, he said.

The resort will include a 200-room luxury hotel, with private-access outdoor pools and a rooftop fine dining restaurant and cocktail lounge overlooking the lagoon. A convention center also is planned.

A trolley will get swimmers and bathers to and from the lagoon, according to project documents at the Huntersville Planning Department.

Planned recreational facilities and activities include swimming pools; unlimited water sports; tennis and pickleball courts; a basketball court; and a sports field. Also planned are an indoor-outdoor fitness center; health and wellness spa; yoga, pilates, aerobics and dance classes; and greenway trails for walking, jogging and biking.

Food and beverage options also will include beach-side bites and a coffee bistro; a family food court; and swim-up bars at the lagoon.

Remote-work areas will be central to the club, Palillo said, with shared co-working spaces, desks and meeting rooms. Study halls, computer labs and creative spaces will be available to students, and camps and classes will be held weekly. Child care for 3 to 12 year olds will be available up to four hours a day.

Palillo is undertaking the project with his son, Jake Palillo Jr., and son-in-law Brock Hullinger, in partnership with Housing Studios architects and Urban Design Partners landscape architects. Pending zoning approval, construction is expected to start in early 2024, Palillo said.

Palillo’s Huntersville community meeting is scheduled for 6:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 26, at 1994 University City Church Drive in Huntersville.

A public hearing on his rezoning request is tentatively scheduled for June 5 at Town Hall, 101 Huntersville-Concord Road.

The request is tentatively scheduled to go before the Huntersville Planning Board June 27 and the Huntersville Board of Commissioners July 17, both at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall.

This story was originally published April 19, 2023, 3:50 PM.

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (WBTV) - A beach resort with a tropical-style lagoon could soon sit smack dab in the middle of Huntersville.

A developer is laying out plans for an $800 million mixed-use community spanning 270 acres.

It would include a 200-room luxury hotel and conference center, 250 custom single-family homes, luxury apartments, townhomes, and condos.

At the center of the development, there would be a private Lagoona Bay Club with a 10-acre freshwater lagoon. The proposed project would sit east of Interstate 77, partially along Sam Furr Road.

“We’ve been researching these crystal lagoons for probably six or seven years right now and looking for the right place to put it,” Jake Palillo, the developer with Bi-Part Development LLC, said.

Palillo says this is a central location with something to offer for the whole family.

“A modern project that kind of fits today’s lifestyle for people,” he said.

Palillo also plans to put in a trolley system to bring guests to and from the lagoon.

Neighbor Pam Deal says she has lived in Huntersville for 35 years and this would mean saying goodbye to her quiet, rural lifestyle. Her backyard connects to the land where this development would take place.

“We expected the farm someday maybe to be developed into a neighborhood, but the plans that we saw were absolutely shocking,” Deal said.

She worries about traffic along Sam Furr Road and in her own neighborhood.

“When the lagoon is operating at full capacity they will have a hard time getting into their neighborhood, so they will now use our neighborhood as a cut-through,” Deal said.

Her concerns were taken to Palillo, and he said there will always be naysayers.

“Are we going to stay in the house and not have any activities and not have a quality of life because of traffic?” he asked.

But for another neighbor, Jorge Moya, the potential traffic might not be worth it.

“The lake itself provides a series of activities by itself. I don’t see why we would have to have an amusement park added to that?” Moya said. “I don’t see the need really.”

Everyone will have the chance to voice their opinions next week when Palillo holds a community meeting. Town planning staff will also be there.

That meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 26, at 6:30 p.m. at 1994 University City Church Drive in Huntersville.

The $800 million dollar mixed-use community would span 270 acres.

Copyright 2023 WBTV. All rights reserved.

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — The developer behind an $800 million Huntersville project is suing two private citizens over critical social media comments.

Violet Clarke and Noelle Burton say Jake Palillo, the developer of the Lagoona Bay project, is trying to intimidate and bully them with these libel lawsuits.

“I’m not backing down,” resident Violet Clarke said. “He can send me 10 of these. I’m not backing down.”

“Everything I said was true and I still stand behind it,” Burton said.

Lagoona Bay is a 270-acre project proposed for Sam Furr, Westmoreland, Black Farms and McCord Roads. It would include a hotel, 250 single-family homes, plus dozens of apartments, townhomes and condos. Plans also call for a resort-style lagoon. The membership fee would be $10,000 with 1,500 memberships. The Huntersville Town Board will host a public hearing on the project Monday at the Huntersville Recreation Center.

RELATED: Rezoning request filed for beach resort-style project with hotel, homes in Huntersville

Clarke started a Change.org petition against the project. It has more than 4,000 signatures.

“He picked the wrong two,” she said. “We are going all the way. He picked the wrong two to bully.”

The libel suits take aim at posts made on social media by the two women.

Clarke and Burton are opposed to the project but say everything they shared online is true and there was no actual malice behind their statements.

Palillo is accusing Burton of launching a “smear campaign” and said in the lawsuit that she is trying to “destroy his reputation in the community.”

The lawsuit states she made a comment on social media claiming he “is greedy and doesn’t follow through with any of his projects.”

Palillo also accuses Clarke of launching a “smear campaign.” He says she made posts that said in part “he’s not for the community at all. He’s for himself and his greedy family.”

“I stand behind everything 100 percent,” Burton said. “Nothing was malicious. He was just after me because I talked on social media.”

Palillo declined an interview but sent Eyewitness News Reporter Joe Bruno a statement.

“Social media is a place to exchange opinions, and express views,” he said. “Free speech is our right and social media is not a weapon to make false statements, tell lies or slander people.”

Burton and Clarke have hired attorneys and expect the case to be dismissed. Elon Law Professor Enrique Armijo says the court will be looking into whether they intentionally said false statements with reckless disregard for the truth. Armijo reviewed the lawsuit filed against Burton.

He says courts are careful to distinguish between opinion and verifiably false facts

“I think this is going to be pretty difficult for the plaintiff here, the developer, to show that these statements actually harm their reputation,” he said.

Palillo is seeking more than $25,000 in damages.

(WATCH: Residents concerned about proposed development’s impact on wildlife in south Charlotte)