At its Thursday, Sept. 4 meeting, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners wrapped up more than two years of staff work by unanimously adopting a new comprehensive land use plan for the county. The document, which now covers every corner of Guilford County, is intended to provide the framework for how growth and development will unfold over the next decade and beyond.

Forest Oaks residents, however, have their worries about the current situation.

Consultant Jessica Garrow, a principal with Design Workshop, told the commissioners and county staff present in the Old Guilford County Court House that the plan isn’t just a state requirement but is also a tool that gives direction to future policies, programs and funding priorities.

She explained that the planning effort, which began in the spring of 2023, included focus groups, surveys, open houses, workshops and community conversations. The comprehensive plan includes goals and action steps for everything from community character and affordable housing to farmland preservation, transportation networks and infrastructure.

Guilford County Planning Director Leslie Bell followed Garrow with his own remarks, highlighting the shift away from individual “small area” plans toward a quadrant approach, which he said would better capture regional concepts.

 Bell noted the plan addresses farmland preservation, environmental protection, and the need to prioritize housing flexibility.

Commissioners spoke favorably about the plan, with Commissioner Carlvena Foster making the motion to adopt it – and it passed without dissent.

The board’s vote capped off a long and collaborative process, but Forest Oaks residents, as they have for years, have their concerns.

Dan Rogers, president of the Southeast Guilford Community Foundation, was there on behalf of the Forest Oaks community and the surrounding area. His message to the commissioners was straightforward: Guilford County may be adopting a sweeping new plan, but Forest Oaks has still been left behind in the planning process.

“Our plan is 14 years old now,” Rogers told the board. “We have always followed your processes and played by your rules. This year we were assured money was in the budget to update the [Forest Oaks] plan. Instead, focus and funds were shifted to Summerfield. The Forest Oaks community has gotten nothing thus far. We really can’t wait another year to start this.”

Rogers said the Forest Oaks plan—officially the “Liberty Road/Woody Mill Road Small Area Plan”—was originally adopted in 2011 after six years of work with county staff and the commissioners.

In 2012, a zoning overlay was added to enforce development standards.

At the time, Rogers said, that planning effort finally put Forest Oaks “on the map” as a recognized community.

But more than a decade has passed, and the plan has grown stale and the huge megasite in the mix now has a giant tenant named Toyota.

Meanwhile, Greensboro has conducted its own US 421 corridor study – eyeing land near Forest Oaks for industrial development.

 Rogers reminded the commissioners that residents of the Forest Oaks area were furious when industrial sites were first identified near the northern edge of their community.

A public forum he organized drew strong opposition to those ideas, which were eventually dropped, but the memory is still fresh in people’s minds.

“Without an updated plan on file, we have no ability to influence Greensboro,” Rogers said. “They need to know we’re not just a corridor on 421; we’re a community. A lot of property is being purchased right now, and we are very concerned that we have no current plan on file to influence new developer land acquisition plans.”

He pointed out that some developers are already pursuing mixed-use projects that will consume almost all of the property identified in the 2010 plan. Without a current community plan, Rogers said, Forest Oaks residents will have no say in what those projects look like or how they affect their neighborhoods.

For Rogers, the frustration isn’t just about development pressure – it’s about fairness.

 He told the board that the community has followed every step of the county’s process and played by the rules, waiting patiently while other small area plans were completed and funded. Forest Oaks residents were told the money was set aside this year, he said, and they expected the work to begin.

Instead, those funds were diverted elsewhere.

A lot of county zoning and planning attention and money over the past year has gone toward the roughly 1,000 acres state legislators moved out of Summerfield last year and into Guilford County so that developer David Couch could build his community the way he wanted to.

But Rogers wanted more focus quickly on Forest Oaks.

“We want it to be an ‘almost now’ situation,” Rogers said. “We can’t wait another year.”

The commissioners listened, and some pressed staff for answers.

Commissioner Alan Perdue asked when the Forest Oaks plan could realistically be updated and how much it might cost. Bell guesstimated between $150,000 and $175,000 and couldn’t give a very firm timeline.

He said the county might partner with local universities to keep the cost down.

Commissioner Kay Cashion pointed out that the massive development expected in and around Forest Oaks makes updating the plan more urgent than ever.

Commissioner Frankie Jones inquired about the timelines for previous updates for Forest Oaks and for other area plans in other parts of the county.

Rogers was very polite but expressed his frustration to the board.

“The Forest Oaks community has gotten nothing thus far,” some written remarks handed out to the commissioners stated. “At this point we are extremely frustrated. We request that you allocate funds now to update and expand the plan and zoning overlay for the Forest Oaks community.”

Land plans are a critical tool that help residents shape the future of their neighborhoods. The documents spell out how land can be used – whether for residential subdivisions, industrial sites, retail corridors or open space.

They also influence how cities like Greensboro approach annexation and infrastructure extensions. Without a current plan, Rogers argued, Forest Oaks risks being seen as just another undeveloped stretch of US 421, ripe for projects designed with no community input.

For Rogers, that would undo more than a decade of work.

“We spent six years from beginning to end working with planning and this board to create our current community development plan and to get Forest Oaks on the map,” he reminded commissioners. “It is not just a country club. It is a community.”

The broader comprehensive plan adopted Thursday night may help guide the county at large, but for the people of Forest Oaks, the fight is also about something more – recognition, respect and a voice in how their home area will grow.

 Rogers said Forest Oaks isn’t asking for special treatment, just for Guilford County government to follow through on promises already made.

He said Forest Oaks residents were promised the money would already be in the county budget for the project.

 “Instead, focus and funds were shifted to deal with Summerfield,” he said, “The Forest Oaks community has gotten nothing thus far.”

In the end, the commissioners adopted the countywide plan and thanked the steering committee for its work.

Several commissioners promised to keep Forest Oaks’ concerns on the front burner.

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