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June 29, 2005

Panel says development would be too far from city

HIGH POINT - A proposal to build 204 homes in Davidson County is too far away from High Point's edge for the city to adequately provide services to them, a panel said Tuesday.
The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-1 to recommend City Council not approve the proposed Shugart Management development along Joe Moore and Burton roads to Shugart Management.
Council has the final vote and will hold a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 1.

The 97-acre property in question - which High Point legally can annex - is in an area of northeast Davidson that city does not feel is ready for growth and development.
The Northeast Davidson Area Plan, established in 2002, designates the area for future growth and says that the city should allow only developments close to existing homes that are within the city’s limits.
About 30 Davidson County residents attended the commission's meeting. All who spoke questioned whether the city and Davidson County could handle the project.
"Why are we going to put that many people in the neighborhood and not support them?" Terra Bryson, a resident of Joe Moore Road, asked the commission.
Residents said the development would create a safety hazard on narrow country roads, continue to strain already overcrowded schools and a sewer system at capacity as well as be too far away for High Point's public safety agencies to reach new residents quickly.
Tom Terrell, a lawyer representing Shugart, said the houses would be less than a half-mile from an existing development within High Point’s boundaries. He added that the property is close to an area the city deems ready for development.
Terrell stressed the proposed development would have a density of about two homes per acre, less than half of what High Point recommends for property in northeast Davidson. He said the scale of the development would not overburden roads, schools or sewer systems.
Plus, Terrell said, the development would not destroy the rural setting of the property. Thirty acres are to remain undeveloped, he said.
"This is development with the land," he said. "You don’t see that very often."
City planners had recommended the development not be approved because it is in the area for future growth. They questioned whether the city could afford to provide public services.
Planners also said that approving one development in the area would set a precedent for developing that area of the city in a piecemeal fashion.
"There would be no rationale to deny similar requests in the near future," said Gregg Morris, a city planner.
Terrell and developer Grover Shugart stressed High Point has allowed other developments that are far from the city lines.
"With what has been taken in before, there’s no reason for this to be different," Shugart said.
But Robert Janson said the city already has trouble providing services to residents in his Wynn Gate neighborhood, the city community closest to the proposal.
"There are no services," he said. "They don’t exist."

Contact Amy Dominello at 883-4422, Ext. 248, or adominello@news-record.com

Posted by Amy Dominello at June 29, 2005 3:22 AM