Zoning officials vote down Warnersville request
The Greensboro Zoning Commission voted, 6-2, Monday against a request from the Warnersville Community Coalition to rezone 30-acres of Greensboro College land for homes.
Members of the coalition, led by President Otis Hairston, requested that the city rezone the land, used for sports practices since 1998, to block Greensboro College from knocking down the historic J.C. Price School and building revamped athletic fields and a stadium.
But zoning officials voted that down Monday, sending the proposal along to the City Council's Dec. 5 meeting. Community residents and college representatives are sure to converge there, and there might be some fireworks. Read more in Tuesday's News & Record.
A roundup of the zoning meeting after the jump ...
* The commission unanimously approved a rezoning of 0.42 acres on Sheldon Road for more dense single-family development.
* A proposal to rezone 7.024 acres on Zola Drive between Collinswood Lane and Denny Road drew some opposition. But commissioners unanimously approved the rezoning request, which would allow for more dense single-family residential development on the property.
* The commission unanimously approved a small rezoning of the final piece of property for Summit House, an alternative living option for female felons with children. The commission already approved a rezoning of neighboring property on Fairview Street for the house earlier this year.
* Alan Sharpe's plans to build 120 apartments for N.C. A&T and Bennett College students met with success Monday. A rezoning for Sebastian Village, which includes the preserved Dr. Sebastian House, passed the commission with an 8-0 vote. Attorney Derek Allen, who represented Sharpe, said the project should revitalize a crime-ridden area, provide much-needed student housing and maintain an historic structure as a museum for black doctors. The project, located along McConnell Road between Booker Street and Benbow Road, celebrated its groundbreaking last week.
* The commission approved a proposed apartment complex for students at UNCG. The planned complex would be located between Spring Garden Street and Oakland Avenue, between Warren Street and South Aycock Street.
* In a 7-1 vote, the commission approved rezoning of 2.55 acres near Overland Heights for a multifamily complex. The board heard some complaints about the proposal from area residents concerned about crime rates in the area.
* The commission unanimously approved a 3.75-acre rezoning for corporate park uses along Pleasant Ridge Road.
* The commission rezoned 1.29 acres on the south side of Spring Lake Drive for higher-density residential uses.
* Commissioners voter 7-1 in favor of rezoning about 23.5 acres near the airport for a town-home project with a daycare center. Portrait Homes has a contract on the property, sandwiched between N.C. 68 and North Regional Road. The project could include 2,000 square-feet of retail to serve the neighborhood and up to 142 town homes. Planning staff expressed some discomfort with the rezoning, which takes up a piece of property city planners feel could appeal to a company and attract more jobs to the city. Attorney Henry Isaacson, who represented Portrait Homes and the current property owner, argued that the city needs more homes in the airport area to cater to employees of nearby businesses that are or will soon be open. He cited Research Triangle Park, with its mass of businesses and relative lack of homes, as what the PTI-area should not become. Zoning commissioners bought that argument, recommending the proposal favorably to the City Council. The Council will hear the rezoning request Dec. 5.
* The commission rezoned 2.411 acres along New Garden Road near Brassfield Road for a mixed-use development containing office and retail space. The project, up for review at the Dec. 5 Council meeting, could include neighborhood-serving businesses.
* The board approved a request for a special-use permit for night-time, off-street parking along Meadowood Street near Edith Lane and Wildberry Drive.
* The commission rezoned about 1.4 acres, in two plots, for N.C. A&T as part of a redevelopment and land-acquisition effort to make the campus more pedestrian-friendly.
* A request to rezone land in the historical district at the northeast quadrant of Spring Garden and South Mendenhall streets was pulled off the agenda. It will return in 60 days, after the developer has a chance to talk further with the neighbors about plans for a mixed-use development that would include 6,000 square feet of retail, parking spaces, 20 residential units and 12,000 square feet of offices.