When Mecklenburg County announced last month that it was purchasing land to expand Idlewild Park in Matthews, Mayor John Higdon called it “a meaningful investment” and “a win for the entire community.”

Some Matthews residents see it differently.

At the April 13th Board of Commissioners meeting, two residents laid out a detailed timeline alleging that commissioners approved a rezoning in 2025 that enriched a connected developer — and that at least one commissioner may have had a financial relationship with that developer while voting on his project.

The Hive Wire is in the process of verifying the allegations through public records requests. Here is what is documented, what is alleged, and what we are still pursuing.

WHAT IS DOCUMENTED

"I don’t know what misinformation they are spreading about the issue. The developer asked would the county like to purchase the property. — Commissioner John Urban"

In June 2025, the Matthews Board of Commissioners approved a rezoning of a parcel on Matthews Mint Hill Road, allowing developer Garry D. Smith of BrookeChase Properties LLC to build townhomes on land his company had purchased for $1.86 million.

Less than a year later, Mecklenburg County purchased that same parcel — along with an adjacent property — for $8.8 million to expand Idlewild Park, as reported by the Charlotte Observer and WSOC TV. Smith’s profit on the transaction was described by residents at the April 13th meeting as approximately $6 million.

BrookeChase Properties is not a newcomer to Matthews. Smith has been developing commercial and residential properties in the area for decades. Public records from a 2018 Matthews Board of Commissioners special meeting show that Commissioner John Urban acknowledged a prior business relationship with Smith, stating that his architectural firm, Urban Architectural Group PA, had worked on Smith projects in 2004, 2010, and 2014.

WHAT RESIDENTS ALLEGED

Two Matthews residents, Alex Freeman and Jim Deadmond, addressed the board during public comment on April 13th. Both spoke on the record and by name.

Freeman alleged that on the evening of the June 9, 2025 rezoning vote, Commissioner Urban received Freeman’s written summary of resident opposition to the Lily Town Homes project and forwarded it to the developer’s representatives within minutes — giving them time to prepare counterarguments before the meeting began. Freeman said this is documented in a June 9, 2025 email from Urban to a contact identified as Corey King.

Freeman also alleged that Commissioner Urban received a $900 contribution from the Matthews First PAC, which he said was partially financed by Garry Smith, the developer behind the project. He said this is documented in Urban’s campaign finance filings with the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections.

Freeman further alleged that a UNC Charlotte professor was paid $2,000 to lobby before the commission in support of the project without disclosing that financial relationship to the board.

He also alleged that before the June 2025 vote, both the town manager and the director of parks and recreation denied that Mecklenburg County had any interest in the property — despite, he said, evidence to the contrary having already been shared with commissioners. He cited an email from Corey King to Urban, sent the day of the vote, in which King appeared to acknowledge that county interest existed but characterized it as residents drawing their own conclusions.

Deadmond corroborated Freeman’s account of the land value timeline and cited Nextdoor comments from residents including “sounds very corrupt to me” and “backroom deals made by the ones you voted in.” He noted that Commissioner Jonathan Clayton was the only commissioner who distanced himself from a PAC-produced endorsement letter that supported several current commissioners. He said Smith’s wife contributed to a PAC connected to former Mayor Jim Taylor that produced that endorsement.

Both speakers argued that had commissioners listened to residents at the time of the rezoning — and been transparent about what they knew regarding county interest in the land — taxpayers would not now be on the hook for $8.8 million to purchase property that could have been acquired for far less before the rezoning drove up its value.

WHAT THE BOARD SAID IN RESPONSE

"Town leaders and elected officials have worked closely with Mecklenburg County throughout this process. This is a meaningful investment in expanding Idlewild Park and a win for the entire community. — Mayor John Higdon"

Commissioner Urban addressed the allegations after public comment concluded. He said the developer came to the town with the opportunity — the county did not seek out the property.

Urban said the board’s position was that adding approximately 30 acres to Idlewild Park would be a community benefit, and characterized the residents’ account as “misinformation.” He did not specifically address the campaign finance allegations or the email forwarding allegation on the record. He invited the developer or the county to come before the board to clarify the record if they wished.

Mayor Pro Tem Susan Chambers, who was presiding in Higdon’s absence, thanked Urban for putting his response on the record. No other commissioners addressed the allegations. ##WHAT WE ARE STILL VERIFYING

The Hive Wire has submitted or is in the process of submitting the following public records requests:

— Commissioner Urban’s June 9, 2025 emails, specifically any communications with Corey King or with individuals connected to the Lily Town Homes development.

— Commissioner Urban’s campaign finance filings with the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, including any contributions from the Matthews First PAC or from Garry Smith or entities associated with BrookeChase Properties.

— The town manager’s statements at the June 9, 2025 board meeting regarding Mecklenburg County’s interest in the Lily parcel.

— Financial disclosure records related to the UNC Charlotte professor alleged to have lobbied before the commission.

WHY IT MATTERS

The core question residents are raising is not whether Idlewild Park expansion is a good outcome. Most say it is. The question is whether the path to get there involved a rezoning that should never have happened — approved by commissioners who had financial ties to the developer and access to information about the county’s interest that they did not disclose to the public.

If the email allegation is accurate, a commissioner used resident opposition as opposition research for a developer on the night of a contested vote. If the campaign finance records bear out what Freeman described, a commissioner voted to approve a project that directly profited a donor — a donor his own firm had done business with as recently as 2014. Either of those things is a problem on its own. Together they describe something worse.

It is also worth noting this is not the first time questions have been raised about the relationship between Commissioner Urban and Garry Smith. In 2018, Urban went on the record at a special meeting to address what he called misinformation about their business history — an acknowledgment that the relationship had already been a subject of public concern years before this transaction.

Mecklenburg County paid $8.8 million for land a developer bought for $1.86 million. Taxpayers are on the hook for the difference. Someone made approximately $6 million. The question Matthews residents are asking is whether that was an accident.

The Hive Wire will update this story as public records requests are fulfilled and as sources respond to requests for comment.

Have information about this story? Contact The Hive Wire at thehivewire.com