The project, envisioned as an employment hub between Wilkinson Boulevard and I-85, is planned to include stores, restaurants, offices, hotels, a parking garage, a gas station and green space, with completion targeted for 2032. As currently proposed, the rezoning petition would allow up to six drive-thrus, with possible exceptions for more.

City staff argue that layout would not create the pedestrian-friendly environment needed to support the multibillion-dollar Silver Line light rail line coming through the area, according to the city's analysis of the plan. The request asks that most of the site be rezoned as general commercial, a category that permits more car-oriented uses and carries suburban design standards. The land is currently zoned as a Regional Activity Center, which allows major employment sites, cultural destinations and mixed-use development, including high-density housing. Federal Aviation Administration grant rules bar residences that close to the airport.

The tension reflects a broader crossroads for Charlotte: whether the city becomes more urban or remains a place where owning a car is a practical necessity. Airport officials have said the district can only be so walkable because of traffic volumes and FAA rules. The airport also plans to elevate Josh Birmingham Parkway over Wilkinson Boulevard to accommodate cars.

"It can't be a true high-density pedestrian environment because we have so much traffic going through that intersection," Jennifer Williams, CLT's planning director, told the Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority in August.

Critics say the current plan falls short of the site's potential. "This could have been a really incredible convention and hospitality district, but what I see could be a Sheetz, a Raising Cane's and maybe an AutoZone," Clayton Sealey, an MPTA member who also sits on the city's planning committee, told airport officials during an August presentation. Sealey said he would prefer a project akin to the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, giving Charlotte a second complex for conventions.

Crosland Southeast's Tim Sittema told the Charlotte Business Journal in June that he does not want the district to "look like any other exit on an interstate," saying landscaping and architecture would set it apart.

The Silver Line stop will not connect directly to the airport terminal. Officials say a terminal connection would interfere with future expansion plans, a stance residents have pushed back on.

The city, airport and Crosland Southeast all declined to comment.

Monday's hearing is scheduled during the 5 p.m. City Council meeting. Afterward, the item returns to the zoning committee, and the council will likely vote at a later date. Council members are not bound by staff's recommendation to reject the petition.