Merry Oaks Neighborhood Association

Newsletter May 2002

Volume IV, Number 2

Newsletter May, 2002
Spring, Volume IV Number 2
Meetings: General meeting May 16, 7-9, Merry Oaks School. The agenda included a police report, Bylaws changes and a discussion of our neighborhood appearance.

Events:
June 1 Neighborhood Yard Sales
June 15 Potluck Block Party
Aug. 29 Board Meeting
Aug. 22 Newsletter deadline
Feb. 15 There was a MONA-sponsored skate night at Skate World, 57 from Merry Oaks attended.

Article – A Behind the Scenes Look At What Mona Does, by Nancy Pierce Shaver
Many of our neighbors were flabbergasted and dismayed, driving down Arnold Drive a few months ago, to see two things: the wooded buffer between the Medicine Shop and the adjacent house was gone! Mature trees had been removed. Also, the owners of the adjacent house completely paved the front yard, leaving no pervious surface for water percolation, nor any greenery.
This is an important entrance to our neighborhood. Right now it looks very bad. This is what is happening there:
The little house is zoned for business, and the owner, Lara Pham, wants to open a coffee house and has applied for a permit to do so. But City Code requires her to provide a 22-foot buffer from the adjacent residential property, as well as 11 parking spaces and space for a dumpster with dump truck access. Her lot is too small for all this. So she applied to the Zoning Board of Adjustment to eliminate the required buffer so she could have a driveway to the back, giving her parking spaces in both the front and back. She also asked to reduce the required parking spaces from 11 to 7.
Jasper Parham, Mark Salmen and I attended the Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting to protest her request for a variance. We like the idea of a coffee shop, but we think a wooded buffer is necessary at that spot, to mitigate the sights and sounds of Central Avenue. We are afraid of yet another exposed dumpster and cars parked all over what is meant to be a yard.
Despite our objections, the Zoning Board of Adjustment approved her request. They reduced the required buffer width so she can build a driveway to the back of the property and have dumpster access. They also reduced her required number of parking spaces from 11 to 7, as requested. They did say she had to provide a fence and a few trees between her property and the adjacent residence. She will have to redo the paved area to provide some green space next to the street as well.
Mr. Tommy Pappas, who owns the Medicine Shop building and the adjacent strip mall, had some property damage resulting from a tree falling onto the building. In order to prevent this from happening again, he took out all the trees. He is currently considering his options for improving that corner with a new building. If he does that, the City will require him to provide buffering and a landscaped planting strip along Central and Arnold Drive, as well as reduce his driveway curb cuts to two. If he does not put up a new building, he will re-landscape the area behind the Medicine Shop.
We are in communication with both Ms. Pham and Mr. Pappas to let them know the neighbors are concerned about the appearance of our neighborhood entrance, and they are both receptive to our concerns. Ms. Pham is trying to negotiate a difficult City bureaucracy, and we are now trying to help her do this so she can get on with her business. This will build a good relationship for the future so we can continue to express our concerns if anything arises. Mr. Pappas understands our concerns regarding the appearance of his property, but he asks that we be patient. He intends to improve the property in some manner, and he will keep us informed as things progress.
So whether you live at that end of Arnold or not, listen up. This is just one example of the kind of thing your President and Board do. We’re watching out for you. But we’ll burn out really quickly if we don’t get some help.
Call me or email me if you can volunteer to be a Board member and help us watch out for Merry Oaks.

Neighborhood News and Updates
Improvements: Depending upon weather, storm drain work should be done by mid-July. A. J. Morgan is our contact and can be reached at 704-400-1695 (cellphone) or 704-525-6284 (office).

January Meeting Update: Answers to the questionnaire indicated that: neighbors would like to see less cut-through traffic, fewer rental properties, better exits from the neighborhood, better kept lawns, less cars parked in yards, better curb-side pickup, a park or greenway, more young children.
The unanimous choice of all discussion groups on what they would like to see MONA work on in the future was neighborhood appearance.

Improved Street Lighting: Merry Oaks is in lie for new street lighting design – but it is a long line. Duke Energy street lighting designer Jeff Treadway says we are “in the top third of a very big stack.” Be patient.

Trees! Signs! MONA asked the City to provide and plant trees on its right-of-way after the Neighborhood Improvement Project is finished. Bruce Clodfelter will design signs for the neighborhood and we expect to get a grant to finance them.

Exxon: The property at Eastway and Central has not yet been sold. Various prospects – including Walgreen’s and Jack-in-the-Box, have looked. But there is no deal yet.

Inner Harbor Seafood Market: 3019 Central Avenue, 704-567-0283 has moved into the old Bojangles. Manager Rob Tynes says the store will emphasize seafood, Asian produce and he plans to stock African and Latino food items as well and plans to be open 7 days a week from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Connectivity Update: The City has plans to connect neighborhoods for pedestrians and bicyclists. Within a couple of years, Merry Oaks may have access to Plaza Midwood via a park, greenway and bike trail. Todd Thorne 704-353-0993 is the City contact.

Briar Creek Greenway Update: The County purchased several homes on Masonic Drive along the creek and they are being removed. The County also purchased houses in the floodplain on Harbinger Court, on our side of the creek, off Arnold Drive—these properties will be restored to their natural state and become part of our neighborhood park and greenway. A new bridge is planned but it is a long process. Check more recent newsletters for latest on this.

Bylaw Changes:
The Board will consist of a president-elect, president, outgoing president, treasurer and secretary/newsletter editor plus four other board members, each serving two-year terms.
The president is limited to two consecutive terms as president, but may assume another Board position at any time. Board members may continue to serve as long as they wish but must be re-elected each term. Board openings will be announced in each May newsletter, candidates will be profiled in September newsletter, and elections will be held in September.
Vacancies may be filled by Board appointment at any time, but to continue on the Board the person must be elected the September following his or her appointment. Board members are non-voting until the second meeting they attend. These changes were introduced at the 5/16/02 meeting.

Feature – Shade Gardening in Merry Oaks, by Austin Seagrave. This article has been moved to the (under construction) “Gardening” page, accessible by clicking on it from the MONA Home Page.
Feature – Nature in the City, by Jasper Parham. This article has been moved to the “Environment” page, accessible by clicking on it from the MONA Home Page.
Feature – Letters From A Mother and Daughter. An excerpt from article by Shirley and Katie Marie Blackwell discussing Merry Oaks. While excerpted due to space requirements, the full text is in our archives, maintained by Nancy Pierce Shaver.
Individualism and tolerance are typical of most people in our neighborhood. A lot of very creative people are drawn to our midst. Our daughter returned to Charlotte after living in other areas of the country and now lives in a home overlooking the County Club Golf Course, which used to belong to her grandmother. She wrote the following:
Heart and Soul: Having returned to my hometown, I visited NoDa, (the area on North Davidson Street between 35th and 36th, which is now an Arts District). There I met a person planning to move who commented, “…so much of Charlotte is losing its heart and soul, but that area (Plaza-Midwood/Merry Oaks) still seems alive. The people seem cool, laid-back.”
So much is said in a few words. What a great compliment. In so many cities the heart and soul get lost to concrete, skyscrapers and big business. It’s happening in areas of ours, but here five minutes from downtown, our spirit is still alive. I grew up in this neighborhood. When living elsewhere, I remembered lush vegetation, tall trees, flowers, a warm climate in both temperature and attitudes; people who always say “Hi!” or wave. People who represent an eclectic mix, accepting of each other, who celebrate and learn from one another rather than form cliquish groups. The tall trees have not become a casualty of a growing skyline, my neighbors still wave, still strike up a conversation. My neighbors range from schoolteachers, musicians, landscapers, photographers, wine dealers, caricature artists, a school psychologist and many others, all a happy eclectic mix.
Some faces have changed but the hospitality, warmth and vibrancy still pulse. The dogwoods still adorn the roadside. Today the magnolia tree, which my Grandmother planted, is 50’ tall, standing the test of time, just like our neighborhood.