The rezoning request for over 23 acres on Cone Boulevard has been continued for one month.
The request to rezone the 23.3 acres to Conditional District Residential Multifamily-26 (RM-26) was postponed to Monday, Oct. 20 by a unanimous vote of the Greensboro Zoning Commission on Monday, Sept. 21.
Attorney Don Vaughan, who said he represented “many of the citizens opposed to this item,” requested that the matter be continued for 30 days. Vaughan said that the additional time was needed to inform people in the community of the rezoning request and to get organized.
Vaughan said, “We’ll be ready to go at the next meeting.”
According to city staff, Vaughan is just one of the attorneys representing the opposition.
Attorney Mike Fox of Tuggle Duggins, who represents the Koury Corporation that is requesting the rezoning, said, “We do not oppose the 30-day request for a continuance.” Fox added that there had already been some very good discussions with Vaughan and others in opposition and that the 30-day continuance would give them a chance “to work on some proposed conditions that would make this a better project for everyone.”
Regardless of the Zoning Commission decision on the request, the matter will almost certainly be appealed to the City Council, which has the final say in zoning matters.
The 23.3-acre site is on Cone Boulevard between Cleburne Street and Lafayette Avenue and is adjacent to both the Kirkwood and Browntown neighborhoods.
On Saturday, Sept. 19 at 11 a.m. about 50 people gathered at the corner of Cleburne Street and Cone Boulevard to protest the proposed rezoning. They stood in the right-of-way in front of the property with a variety of signs, many homemade.
One of the most common complaints heard from those who were protesting was that the RM-26 zoning district, which would allow up to 600 apartments to be built on the property, was too dense for the area that is made up primarily of single-family homes.
A petition at SayNoGSO.com opposing the rezoning request had over 2,200 signatures on Monday, Sept. 21.
Once again, this rezoning request, that will go to the City Council, shows that the Zoning Commission is a total waste of time and expense. The Zoning Commission should be disbanded.
And I’m a past Chairman
As a homeowner in this neighborhood, I am opposed to this rezoning request and apartment complex project. This would disrupt a nice, scenic, quiet neighborhood and destroy a 23.3 acre green area that fits well in this neighborhood. Has the developer provided an environmental impact statement, soil erosion plan, water runoff plan and the associated impact and a habitat study? Could this project destroy imperiled or endangered plant and animal species? When will these studies be done by the developer to assess these impacts?