LAKE WYLIE, N.C. — A large, proposed development could soon bring hundreds of homes to the southern tip of Mecklenburg County.
Neighbors worry Lake Wylie's infrastructure can't handle the growth.
Al Tuggle has lived on Lake Wylie for 40 years.
"Having lake living, it's nice to be out here," Tuggle said. "It's been quiet."
It was quiet until a sign for a proposed development went up at the corner of McKee Road and Bankhead Road.
"It's going to be a mess," Tuggle said.
The high-density plan calls for 300 homes, according to residents.
"The roads just can't handle it," Tuggle said.
Tuggle said large developments like The Palisades have cropped up over the years but the roads still haven't expanded to support the growth.
Channel 9 called Mattamy Homes and county planning officials to ask whether they are planning to make any changes to the infrastructure, but so far we have not received any answers.
According to neighbors, the proposed development is billing $200,000 homes. Resident Ted Rahon worries that won't match the character of the community.
"Home prices range from $350,000 to $1.5 million around here," he explained.
The concerned neighbors aren't just trying to protect their property values, they are also trying to preserve the Catawba River Basin.
"It looks like a bomb went off. There are no trees. When it rains, that water and mud is going to go to the lowest point, which is Lake Wylie," Tuggle said.
Dozens of neighbors have rallied together around the concerns and they're inviting county planning leaders and the developer to meet with them at 7 p.m. at the InterNET Services Corporation in Fort Mill on Thursday.
"We can sure fight. We can try real hard," Tuggle said.
They're not trying to stop Charlotte's sprawl, but they are asking the developer to reconsider the density of the development, so the growing pains become a little less painful.