The rezoning request for 1302 New Garden Road appears to be the most controversial item on the agenda for the Tuesday, Aug. 20 Greensboro City Council meeting, but City Council meetings are full of surprises.
The City Council meeting actually begins at 4 p.m., not 5:30 as is posted on the Greensboro website.
The New Garden Road rezoning request by Kim Reittinger to rezone the property she owns from single family residential (R-3) to Conditional District- Office (CD-O) attracted a large crowd of opponents and resulted in a heated discussion at the Zoning Commission meeting July 15 where the Zoning Commission voted 7-1 to deny the request.
Reittinger appealed that decision to the City Council. Friday, Aug. 16 she said that the Zoning Commission was being investigated for irregularities in the way the hearing about her request was conducted.
The City Council meeting could be even more heated. Reittinger said that she had a judge issue a restraining order against one of the opponents to the rezoning who she said had “harassed” her. Reittinger wouldn’t say who she took the restraining order out against or what kind of harassment was involved other than people had been filing complaints with the city about her property and taking photos, including walking past a no trespassing sign and trying to take photos of the backyard.
Most of the opposition to the rezoning comes from the adjacent Robin Ridge neighborhood and many of the complaints at the rezoning hearing centered around the fact that there were only two conditions placed on the rezoning, one excluding hotels, motels and group homes and the other limiting the maximum building height to 40 feet. If the property is rezoned any of the many uses permitted in Office zoning would be allowed.
Several councilmembers have said that Robin Ridge is an established neighborhood and they don’t see the need to chip away at the edges by rezoning the property.
