CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Controversial plans to bring to bring a Topgolf location to University City hit a roadblock.
Charlotte leaders decided to delay the vote to bring Topgolf to north Charlotte.
Neighbors are protesting the development at Interstate 85 and West Mallard Creek Church Road
Developers want to build a top golf, apartments and retail space, but a historian said he found unmarked slave graves on the site.
Developers are asking the board to push the rezoning vote to July 17.
Eyewitness News reported last week that neighbors were concerned there could be slaves buried on the property.
The development company, Charter Properties, hired historian Dan Morrill, who confirmed it's true, but Morrill's findings may not be enough to stop the project.
"The noise, the lighting, the traffic; all these concerns are being ignored," said Darrin Rankin.
Rankin lives near the proposed development.
He and his neighbor Ayman Mihiar are trying to stop developers from building nearly 400 apartments, 40 thousand feet of retail space and a top golf in their neighborhood.
"We're asking and demanding city council people to decline and deny the petition for rezoning in this area," said Mihiar.
They said their biggest concern is that part of the land where developers would build an access road is a burial ground for slaves.
Historian Dan Morrill told Eyewitness News he visited the lot on Thursday.
He said that following tradition, the slaves were buried in the woods and a wall separated them from white people in the church's cemetery.
Morrill said the graves were marked with rocks and a 90-year-old church member confirmed.
"It is vindication," said Rankin.
Morrill said it's illegal to disturb areas with human remains, but there is a legal process a developer can follow to excavate the land.
Topgolf sent the following statement.
The development partners have hired Dr. Dan Morrill, Professor Emeritus at the University North Carolina at Charlotte to advise them on the presence and location of any graves near the proposed construction site. Dr. Morrill's research is incomplete at this time and it is impossible to say what if any impact it will have on the proposed development.
"If they ignore the fact that there are slaves buried outside the wall our big response would be shame on you," said Rankin.
Neighbors plan to show up at the city council meeting on Monday to encourage leaders to deny the proposal.
The board is set to vote on deferring the rezoning vote for a month during Monday's meeting.
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