The City of Greensboro has grown like kudzu over the last decade, and, while economic development leaders love that to no end, there are some downsides to all this new development and the huge influx of workers into Guilford County.
Traffic on Battleground Avenue, to take just one example, is now ridiculous at all times of the day; more light pollution makes it very hard to enjoy the night sky, and establishments from restaurants to the DMV that had manageable lines and wait times years ago are now often jammed.
Also, if you want to buy a house in Greensboro or High Point at an affordable price – well, good luck with that.
This is exactly the type of thing many residents in Guilford County – especially those now living in the more rural parts of the county – were worried about.
They moved to a rural area of Guilford County because it brought them the joy of country living, but now they’re seeing their peaceful lives intruded upon, whether it’s due to a busy growth corridor from Greensboro to the Toyota battery plant, the creation of large residential and mixed-use developments near them, or the increased traffic whizzing by their homes thanks to a new shopping center down the street.
Over the last several decades, many residents have attempted to fight off development – especially in the county’s northwest. But Guilford County administrators and city leaders have been pushing for more housing and other growth in the county.
For decades, Guilford County was starved for economic development projects as places like Raleigh and Charlotte grew quickly.
However, now it’s Guilford County’s turn for growth, and the county is welcoming all comers with open arms and with attractive incentives packages; and all of those new workers are going to need a place to live and the growth will lead to more traffic, noise, less open space and more urban sprawl.
One farm at a time, agricultural land in Guilford County is being chipped away.
So, the small towns around Guilford County – like Stokesdale and Summerfield to take just two – are attempting a balancing act: Allowing some new development, but in a way that doesn’t destroy the copacetic and tranquil nature of life in their community.
For the past five years, the Town of Summerfield has been ground-zero when it comes to the war between pro- and anti-economic development forces – largely due to the major political battle between farmer and developer David Couch and those in Summerfield who fought against his proposed large residential and mixed-use development.
Residents in the northeastern part of the county who didn’t want that kind of density near them lost the battle when the NC General Assembly took the matter into its own hands and de-annexed the property in question from Summerfield and put it in unincorporated Guilford County.
Now it seems likely that Couch will be able to do just about anything he wants with that land – which remains right next to the small town of Summerfield if not technically within the city limits.
Don Wendelken, who publishes a newspaper and runs a news site that covers Northwest Guilford County, has fought over the years to curtail too rapid development in his town. When asked if he felt that widespread economic development near Summerfield was now inevitable, that there wasn’t much that could be done about it, and that those who wanted high-density development had essentially won the war, Wendelken had a very straightforward response.
“Yes, yes and yes,” he said.
Wendelken, like many others in that part of the county, said the absolute key factor, when it comes to the extent of residential and business growth in Northwest Guilford County and other parts of the county, will be municipal water. Some parts of Northwest Guilford County already have municipal water; however, Summerfield and the land around it don’t.
Wendelken said the last time Couch publicly spoke on the matter, Couch said he was going to pursue every possible water system option to discern what would work best for his project. Two of several possibilities include water from the City of Greensboro and water from Forsyth County.
Recently, the Town of Stokesdale is seeing life when it comes to developers who want to put new housing and businesses there. Given the growth of Guilford County, that’s inevitable; however, the town is working hard to see that new development doesn’t lead to traffic problems, urban sprawl and the destruction of the town’s curb appeal.
The Stokesdale Town Council is holding a public hearing at its regular meeting on Thursday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Stokesdale Town Hall to hear public input on a rezoning case for the property at 8400 Lyman St. If successful, the rezoning would change the property from Conditional Zoning/Light Industrial to Light Industrial. In other words, the zoning designation would stay the same; however, all of the extra protective conditions that were previously placed on the development of the property would be removed.
This is just one parcel – on the eastern side of Lyman Street, about 280 feet north of the intersection of Lyman Street and US Highway 158. But, more and more, restrictions that were put in place over the years to keep parts of the northwest section of the county bucolic and rural are becoming a thing of the past.
Stokesdale’s Town planning officials can’t say what the developers want to do with the property at 8400 Lyman, but they do note that the rezoning request on the table is “consistent with the Stokesdale Future Land Use Plan designation of Town Core, which is intended to support Stokesdale’s growing population and limit sprawl through a mixture of commercial, business, institutional, and residential uses accompanied by public open spaces; thus, if approved, a future land use plan amendment is not required.”
On Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, the Stokesdale Town Council heard a case at the council’s regular meeting to decide whether it should rezone property on the north side of US Highway 158, about 3,400 feet east of the intersection of US Highway 158 with NC Highway 68 N.
That rezoning allowed housing at a greater density than before and the Town Council unanimously approved the move on a 5-to-0 vote.
One of the conditions the developer proposed as part of the rezoning request was that the maximum number of lots be 85.
That unanimous decision by the Stokesdale Town Council means that a hundred acres in Stokesdale will be turned into residential property.
Guilford County officials like development in the county because it means the value of the land goes up – and that means tax revenues increase and the county has more money to spend.
Greensboro Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Brent Christensen told the Rhino Times earlier this year that all this growth is a good thing. However, he added, the infrastructure must keep up. That is, the roads have to be able to accommodate the traffic, workforce development programs must train the workers; the kids of new residents have to have schools to go to and the workers must have available housing.
As for now, for some, the battle against development in the county goes on, but more and more the march toward housing, shopping centers, roads, interstates, office buildings, and large projects filling in what was previously open space seems to be the trend winning the day.
Nearly two decades ago, a proposed small pizza shop in southern Guilford County wanted to open up, and hundreds of opponents showed up at the public hearing in the Guilford County commissioners’ meeting room to argue that that, literally, the place would destroy the view of the night sky, bring crime to the area and have a retention pond that children would drown in.
The opponents lost and, though many of their fears never materialized, over the years, the loss of one zoning battle after another in their area has begun changing the nature of the place they chose to live.
Now, with more businesses and projects coming in, more housing developments on the way, and the expansion of municipal water service thanks to federal COVID-19- relief American Rescue Plan Act money, the writing on the wall seems to be clear.
Area city and county governments do what they can to bring in new business and see new growth because more economic development means an increase in value in the tax base, which in turn means more tax revenue that they can spend.
Everything is a tradeoff, especially when it comes to real estate. You can have bucolic bliss or urban whatever, but unless you have Mar-a-lago money, you can’t have both. It’s the world.
New Year’s eve. Let’s try to make this a better place in 2025.
My better place is Randolph County, outta this place soon. Do all the new County residents know what kind of Govt we have in Greensboro & the County? Are they bringing their failed politics with them? We’ll see after the next local elections.
So your answer to the the housing price crisis is to build less houses or to limit new business development in the county?
In your opinion piece you offer no alternative solution to what you percieve as a problem.
You either grow or die, but change is inevitable.
This guy’s name is an anagram of “Deer Guy”. Is he a shy hunter?
Incredibly sad. Yet another example of how everything is done wrong in America. Empty talk about preventing sprawl when sprawl is the only thing we ever do! Growth is a BAD thing. Is there a sinister reason why town and city councils always rubber stamp these scum developer’s projects. I wonder if the council members are being personally enriched somehow. Then again, it could simply be that they know the developers will support their political aspirations. I cannot stand to see what has become of my beloved northwest Greensboro. My family has had a farm there since the 1890’s. Every year it seems that more disgusting development befouls the beauty and tranquility of the area. America the beautiful? More like America the ugly, the loud, the light polluted, the ignorant.
I am sorry, but “disgusting development” is needed for people to live, work and play. If having the tranquility of a rural, undeveloped world it what you want, you and your neighbors should buy all the surrounding property so you can live away from other people and keep all that property unspoiled. NIMBY’s never put their money where their mouths are. If Summerfield leaders and residents had negotiated with Couch in good faith, you just may have reached an acceptable compromise. But after the way the newly elected, such as Hamilton, treated him, I cheered the de-annexation. I wouldn’t mind living in a nice townhome in a multiuse development in a few years when I retire.
I’ve been a “naysayer” for over 46 years and will continue to be one. I left CA and moved here for a calm, rural life. I didn’t ask for anything to change. I will keep insisting on things to remain the same, I have that choice.
If things remained the same at a given point in time, we’d not have 4-lane highways, shopping centers, new schools, etc. Growth is inevitable in any city in the country.
Growth is not inevitable; change, yes, growth, no. Growth results from desires by government, developers, and rich people wanting to be richer. Government changed NC zoning laws to accommodate cities lobbying for growth; NC GA gave David Couch his wants and desires by allowing him, ONE person, to de-annex a large area of land, all for money and growth; NC GA, cities and counties give our tax money to corporations to encourage growth, economic growth the governments call it. Has anyone done a cost benefit analysis of the “incentives?” No, because the ones responsible for this scam against residents of NC don’t want the people to know the truth. Any company moving here affects infrastructure, schools, and environment. Anyone taking a look at what is going on in Liberty?
So let’s be clear, the growth that is being experienced here is not inevitable but a goal of governments (state and local), developers, and rich people. As far as the suggestion that those who are opposed to the growth should adjust or move along are guilty of coercive behavior against those who disagree.
You don’t have to ASK for change, it comes regardless of what you want. There are plenty of really rural areas. You just have to move far away from any sizable city. But here’s the problem: a lot of people want it both ways. Summerfield residents apparently want be near enough to GSO to work a job, enjoy restaurants, entertainment, sports, etc and then drive the short distance back to their house on 2-3 acres with a well and septic tank. Well, the city is growing and some of it in your direction. This was all foreseeable. Especially someone from CA should have known. Here’s a hint, move out into a REAL rural area. There are plenty in western NC and northeast NC with few residents and a one stoplight town. You would love it.
I moved 20 minutes from the nearest grocery store to hopefully enjoy a more rural living lifestyle into my later retirement years. Growth is inevitable in central NC these days so embrace it or get way out of its way.
This is why it is time for not only Mayor Vaughn to be gone, but the entire City Council! They have the belief/policy that what would be good for Greensboro is to become New York City or KA. Do you hear ANYONE stating they are moving to those cities or moving away instead? Put an end to this and reclaim your city before it is too late.
Happy New Year Scott, have fun and be safe. We’ll see you next year!!!!
Look at what they have done to the colfax. Sandy Ridge area. Farm life gone forever traffic unbelievable.
We got more people. Where do you propose they live? Other than the old “not in my backyard?” You don’t want neighbors? It is easy, just buy all the property around your house. About 1,000 acres should do it. Can’t afford it? Me either. Than adapt or move to one of the really rural counties in NC where there are few people, no amenities but a lot of peace and quiet. Of course, if you want to see a Broadway play, baseball game, dine at a good restaurant, shop at a full service grocery store, or other shopping, you get to drive an hour or so. Not a bad trade off. Medical emergencies? Well, maybe you can last the hour ride to a good medical center. But, you’ll get your peace and quiet.
ken, what is your functional role in all this? It is obvious that you are pro-growth, which is your choice, but you believe that change due to growth happens organically. It does not. The change is because of the growth. To deny this, is at best disingenuous. The so-called housing problem is because governments want growth. They promote growth. They incentivize growth. They protect illegal immigrants by giving them sanctuary. Guilford County and the City of Greensboro are nullifying federal law by providing sanctuary to misdemeanor criminals. Yet, this same government promotes discrimination, which is unlawful, with DEI. Yes, I oppose spot zoning, which has caused unrestrained growth without the consent of those most affected by spot zoning. Planning boards and city councils, you are complicit.
“Growth for the sake of growth is the philosophy f cancer.” To store.
What nonsense! Growth is the result of population growing, people moving for a variety of reasons (mostly opportunities: school, work, desired location/environment, etc). Human demand fuels growth, not “greedy developers”. If people aren’t buying, you don’t see much growth.
ken, so wrong. No one in their right mind would move to this area because of our schools. They move here because government promotes growth and paints the area as filled with growing opportunities. People move here and then start making demands for housing and cheap rent. Rather than telling people who oppose growth to move, why don’t you and others move to an area that is growing unrestrained, say Las Vegas. You may enjoy all the new sport teams.
I have a suggestion on all this housing developments….
Instead of all the tax payers footing the bill for new roads and schools(for all these residents) have the developers pay for them!
They’re making a killing. And I’m sure they all have country homes or lake homes.
It sure would slow down all this. If I wanted to live in the city I would have bought my home in the city! I like the smell of country life and slow moving farm equipment and stars shing at night and quiet nights! Keep our country areas COUNTRY!!
It’s not like Greensboro city limits are full. There’s tons of empty abandoned lots. No development should be forced on the residents of Summerfield until Greensboro is full
Develop around downtown, develop around battleground, develop along Market St. Tons of underutilized land in those areas.
Develop in areas where we don’t have to destroy farms and bulldozer 100’s of acres of trees. David Couch wants to develop Summerfield because he can sell land at a higher price for “rural living” that’s away from the “criminals in the city”
Depending on the state, that is already happening. Developers pay for the roads until the city takes them over – usually at some point when the neighborhood is complete. The same with water and sewer service. The developer pays for that. Certain states charge developers “impact” fees to reimburse costs. As for schools, the families moving in already pay city/county/state taxes that are used to fund the schools. Ultimately, the homeowner is paying all the costs, either when they buy the house or pay there property tax and state income taxes. You like the country? Great, buy all the land around you and keep it rural. Or move to a truly rural area of the state. There are plenty of counties that don’t have any cities. You would love it.
Developers pay for the streets in the development they build knowing that the state will assume responsibility afterwards. The schools you say are already being paid for by people who move in is laughable on its face. These “newcomers” are responsible for overcrowded schools and higher property taxes. Schools that are already subpar. The growth is not worth the pressure placed on schools and infrastructure. As far as streets are concerned, you are referring to streets in the development. How about streets and roads “outside” developments? How about Battleground Ave and Wendover Ave? How much did the developer pay for the overcrowding and traffic-jammed roads outside the developments. Unrestrained growth is a quality-of-life issue especially for those who have been lifelong residents of the area. Why don’t you move to an area with unrestrained growth so you can play in their sandbox?
Summerfield and Stokesdale would be two excellent areas for low income housing. There is a lot of undeveloped acreage that a developer could purchase and develop. Everyone needs a decent area to live in. Think about it developers.
Thank you for your article, Mr. Yost.
Nancy Vaughn is not a NC native. Her ex husband, Don Vaughn, who created her political life, is from Georgetown Delaware, same as Joe Biden. No big mystery why things are the way they are in Guilford. Don Vaughn fled Guilford and lives in Rockingham County.
Thanks for the good info.
Do not sell. This is how urban development into rural areas is stopped. It’s the kids and grandkids selling off their family land to the highest bidders.
Our local government keeps raising taxes on raw farm land in addition to selling pressure. The entire system is against the land owner.
All these folks selling their land for a quick buck will look back in a decade or two and be heartbroken to seen urban decay and high crime neighborhoods oozing out of those once pristine fields, woods and open acres you once roamed as a child. Just another big city cesspool awaits
The Greensboro city limits are almost at the Forsyth county line now. I recently saw the sign near Sandy Ridge Rd and couldn’t believe that much area had been annexed without more public notice.
Fill in development makes a lot more sense than continuously expanding borders further into rural areas. It’s almost like Greensboro, High Point, Kernersville and Winston Salem are competing to see how far they can push their cities’ boundaries before another city gets there first. The fact no one wants to live within their city limits means nothing.
I thought the Legislature made annexations subject to some discretion of the people being annexed. Offering only garbage service, and if manpower is available a law officer or two is a poor substitute for infrastructure cities usually supply like water, sewer, building inspections, sidewalks and street lights, etc. We will pay city taxes for years and years before any of the usual amenities are available. This seems patently unfair and unjust.
I know people in Kernersville who have been incorporated into the city limits for 34 years and still live on an unpaved road with no water or sewer available. They pay thousands a year for garbage pickup and a small law enforcement prescence. Traffic makes getting anywhere around the town nearly impossible. The FedEx facility brought thousands of people into the area yet local roads nearby are still two lane roads. And they’re driven by tractor trailer trucks navigating a basically rural road.
Parts of Greensboro are the same. City services should be provided to new city residents before city taxes begin being collected, or at least in a reasonable time afterwards. I’ve experienced personally the increased crime that follows unchecked residential development, a lot of it rented thru section 8 housing. Taxpayers are financially supporting these real estate developers and companies. Residential owners, and their property managers, many of whom are institutional investors looking for quick profit, and who live out of state, care primarily about profit and not about their tenants. Greensboro used to have only a couple problematic landlords. Now there are dozens who care nothing for the city or community. Look at the issues the city had with Warren Buffet’s property downtown. The 2007/8 financial crisis still haunts us as individual home ownership has never recovered after so many lost jobs and homes. Most were not greedy people looking to buy homes they couldn’t afford. They lost their jobs and it took years to get employment back to prior levels. By then millions of homes were lost to the very banks and investment firms that caused the crisis. The victims were never made whole while taxpayers bailed out those who committed the negligence that caused the disaster.
What we have is “grab as much land as we can before some other city gets it”. There’s no immediate potential to supply city services to those annexed. The cities don’t have the manpower or resources to properly supply these landowners and renters with any city services in the foreseeable future. Law enforcement is suffering from severe manpower issues. The number of trained employees needed to provide services for citizens is lacking in every service delivery department.
Unchecked growth is the problem. There is a lot of undeveloped land within the city limits that should be developed before expanding into more rural areas and basically erasing those small communities and neighborhoods where families have owned their land and homes for generations. Long time residents of these counties who have had to give up their family homesteads because they’re suddenly surrounded by service stations, strip malls, and apartment complexes feel like they’ve been victimized by moneyed outsiders and the County and City have failed to protect them. Instead they’ve invited them in and given them our money to displace us.
The problem is with the League of Municipalities and the Raleigh legislature. When the legislature changed the annexation statute from city limits outward to spot zoning, real problems began for rural areas. The legislation was designed and supported by the League. The League is a lobbying group that lobbies on behalf of cities. Generally the city attorney leads the lobbying effort. In Greensboro’s case, it would be Chuck Watts, who should retire, but that is a discussion for another time. The annexation laws changed in the 1990s. Prior to the change, people living around city limits fought annexation by cities. To avoid this and to encourage growth, the League lobbied Raleigh to change annexation statutes to spot zoning. The phrase spot zoning is frowned upon by cities and developers, but that’s what it is. They support the term “satellite zoning.” Developers love spot zoning. Cities love “spot zoning.” Afterall, they lobbied for it. Developers will come into a rural area and identify land wanted for development. A very attractive offer will be made to the landowner. The landowner is willing to accept the generous offer, but it is contingent on the developer convincing a nearby city to annex the property to get water and sewer. Remember, this land mass is surrounded by county and nowhere does the land touch a city limit. However, the spot zoning process begins by annexing the property by the city, then rezoning the property to fit the developers dream. And the process works, thanks to the legislature in RALEIGH. Guilford County or any county could not grow the way it has without spot zoning. Yes, blame the cities for their part in the charade. However, Raleigh is the source of the patchwork growth, and it began with the change in annexation law. Whenever the League of Municipalities lobbies Raleigh, the average Joe in rural areas is about to be screwed. Think of what David Couch was able to accomplish. While this is unrelated to spot zoning, it does illustrate what the legislature in Raleigh can and will do to accommodate developers, including granting access to government that the average citizen can only dream about, as well as changing annexation laws to allow for spot zoning. Spot zoning was the beginning of the end for rural citizens having a voice in how their corner of the world would be developed. Examples of spot zoning: River Landing i.e. Presbyterian home on Sandy Ridge Rd; land spot zoned at Boylston Rd and S. Bunker Hill Rd for a school; Deerfield Crossing on Bame Rd; Ecolabs, which Bill Gates owns a large share, at 2519 Sandy Ridge Road and the list could go on and on in every area of Guilford County. None of this could have happened without spot zoning. If Greensboro wants to grow, start with the inner city and demolish buildings unused. This will never happen because it would be too expensive to a developer. The developer would rather build on cleared county land. What about Old Irving Park? Some of those houses are on three (+) acres. If there is a shortage of housing, rezone that land for multifamily housing. Spread the misery around. Why should rural citizens pay the price of spot zoning. Write Raleigh and demand the end of rural land confiscation by spot zoning before it is too late. Damn the cities and counties.
Calling Summerfield a rural community is a bit generous. The township is full of neighborhoods with 100+ homes. Especially in the southern part of the town. Summerfield is really a bunch of neighborhoods with rural land in-between. Why stop this neighborhood versus the ones that people already live within? Seems to me, the people want the best of both worlds (neighborhood living on smallish lots with nearby open spaces to given them the sense of living in a rural community) by restricting a landowner’s right to develop their land in a similar manor.
Funny how conservatives love to restrict rights by government regulations/controls with it supports their personal interests.
Rural is relative. Your comment “Summerfield is really a bunch of neighborhoods with rural land in-between” describes rural areas in all of NC. To be rural does not mean a land mass that goes uninterrupted. Compared to Greensboro, Summerfield is rural. Rural does not equate to remote.
So those in a neighborhood can complain about another neighborhood being built in the name of being rural. LOL Must be conservatives to have that level of hypocrisy.
I was born and raised in Summerfield and there’s been nothing “rural” about that area for decades. It’s a suburb now, same with the other three (Oak Ridge, Stokesdale and Colfax). We had two gas station/convenience stores, one of which was owned by the local CPA (place basically shut down at tax time); two “restaurants” – the Luncheonette and Circle M; one grocery store; one barber shop; a primary and elementary school; a few roads and a lot of farms; three churches; it was a town in name only; we had an unofficial mayor, Jesse Joyce, a long serving educator; it was just like Hickory in “Hoosiers”. You can say the same thing for Oak Ridge. I went to ORMA when there was ONE convenience store, a restaurant (Ol Hole in the Wall) and NOTHING for miles. We never went AWOL because wtf you gonna go? The airport? It was idyllic, then “The Unwanted Migration” occurred when folks from the northeast, mid-Atlantic and Midwest moved in. It was reminiscent of the Johnson County War. Ironically, those complaining about NW Guilford losing its “rural” identity are the same ones who participated in destroying it. They’re butthurt that more of their ilk followed suit and it’s suddenly overcrowded. Most of us natives left, but we laugh at them from afar. My family now lives in Wilmington and we’re watching the same story unfold in Brunswick County, which is nothing more than swampland developed by hoodwinking speculators who destroyed the ecosphere and erected cardboard homes for the same types of folks. Those douchecanoes are complaining about the same thing.
To your point, a true story. A development went up beside an owner of a few acres. Many of the homebuyers were not only from the northeast but from many foreign countries. About six months later, the owner of the few acres was doing some heavy, loud, landscape work. Several newcomers came to see what was going on. They were concerned that the owner of the few acres was building houses next to their development, which they did not want. Now, that’s chutzpah.
Instead of fighting against change, we must expect and welcome it. Doing so empowers us to embrace it. We say it all the time, change is inevitable. So, instead of resisting it, embrace it
You must be benefiting from the “changes.” Please tell us how you are benefiting, we would like to know? Change should be tempered with a thoughtful vision for the future consequences of the changes. The current proponents of change are myopic. There are reasons for this: Power, money, control. The overseers for this change get goosebumps at the prospect of being in the mix of what is happening that they fail to ask important questions. Change for the sake of change results in chaos and regret, which generally rests with future generations to solve. In the 1960s, urban renewal was touted as a needed change. How did that work out, especially for Blacks? Please do not lecture me that I must accept change as if change is always good and welcoming.
Please replace the word “change” for the word “growth.” That’s more appropriate, except for the urban renewal, which was a disastrous change.
the ridiculous traffic on battleground ave could have been < if we had turned the parallel RR right of way that extends for miles north thru summerfield into something more useful : a passenger train with park n ride stations.