Crestview Church Road project would add up to 191 houses

ASHEBORO — Rezonings and annexations filled the Asheboro City Council’s agenda on May 7. The biggest item was a proposed 191-house development on Crestview Church Road.

The council first approved annexing 83 acres owned by Candi Land Campground. Then they approved the request by Stanley Martin Homes to apply medium-density residential conditional zoning, or R10 (CZ).

Charlie Hall with Stanley Martin presented a plan for single family homes to be added in three phases. He said the built-upon area will fall under 24 percent, making it a low-density site. There will be two road connections to Crestview Church Road, Hall said, with a future stub connection to the north.

He said the whole subdivision will have sidewalks except for two lots built against Crestview Church Road. A homeowners’ association will maintain the neighborhood. Hall also said they will keep the stream undisturbed with a 30-foot buffer.

Randolph County originally zoned the land for campground use. Asheboro’s Planning and Zoning Director Justin Luck told council members that while the planning board recommend the rezoning, the terrain is steeper than the city land development plan’s policy.

Council members asked about how they will mitigate erosion. City Manager Donald Duncan explained the topsoil layer around Asheboro is very thin, and other developments saw severe erosion. He asked if they would consider energy dissipators or other alternatives.

Zack Engineer of Gardner Engineering is civil engineer for this project. He said the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) has not deemed this an area needing stormwater quality like a pond. He said they hope to maintain the existing drainage pattern by using disperse flow and vegetation.

“All these things put together, they can highly increase the amount of stormwater that will be infiltrated versus runoff into the streams,” Gardner said. He also said Stanley Martin plans to stockpile the topsoil and spread it after grading.

Mayor Joseph Trogdon, Jr. asked how they plan to stabilize the slopes and whether they might need retaining walls. Gardner said most of their concept shows a 3:1 slope, keeping within the standard stabilization practice. He said there may be a couple areas with a 2:1 slope, which they will monitor.

“This place will get an NCDEQ erosion control permit,” he said. “There will be inspections from the state as far as sediment loss, to make sure all the erosion control measures are being maintained.”

Council member Kelly Heath asked whether they’ll need to do terracing because of the topography. Gardner said based on their preliminary grading plan, it would be a terraced-type design moving down to the riparian stream buffer.

Council member Mary Joan Pugh asked if the zoning conditions would require incorporating the grading plan into the development plan. Gardner said while it is not part of the conditions, they will include one.

Council member Eddie Burks added that it is likely they will need to cut back on the number of homes once they begin working on the land.

Other rezonings and annexations

■ The city council rezoned three parcels at 506 Pineview Street from R10 to R10 (CZ). Brian Lucas asked to build two new duplexes. His attorney Robert Wilhoit said because of the nearby railway, duplexes are more optimal for that spot rather than a single-family home. He said the surrounding neighborhood already contains a mix of single- and multi-family dwellings.

Council member Phil Skeen joined the unanimous vote in favor, but he first expressed reservations about the city allowing smaller lot sizes. He said, “We keep reducing these lot sizes to fit a plan. You say it fits our conditional zoning, but we’re going to keep stacking houses closer and closer in smaller lots. I don’t know what we’re accomplishing.”

Wilhoit said the railroad right-of-way drives this project’s smaller square footage. In exchange, he said Lucas agreed to stricter conditions on buffering and plants.

■ The council annexed and rezoned a parcel on US-220 Business South next to I-73 and Southmont School Road. The land is to be part of the EAS manufacturing plant. Community Development Director John Evans said the section was left out by the surveyors when the council rezoned the whole property in February.

■ They also annexed 3.66 acres on US-220 Business South north of Oakhurst Road on behalf of Magnolia NC, LLC.

■ They annexed 0.24 acres at the end of Springdale Lane. Duncan said this is so they can work with the developer to improve a street.