Developer David Couch and the Town of Summerfield have been going back and forth for a very long time over a nearly 1,000-acre residential and mixed-use development that Couch wants to put on property he owns in the town.
But now that back and forth seems to have come to a halt and it looks increasingly like Couch will choose the path of de-annexation – getting the North Carolina General Assembly to remove the property from the town so that he doesn’t have to battle Summerfield over the vision he has for the development.
That threat of de-annexation caused the town to eventually promise Couch some of what he was asking for, but it looks like it was too little too late.
Complicating these negotiations is the situation with town administration. The council has voted not to renew the town manager’s contract and, in the wake of that decision, the town attorney resigned. Couch apparently felt he could work with those two.
Now, the Summerfield Town Council and other town leaders are trying to keep the town whole. Earlier this month, Town Councilmember Jon Hamilton, after seeking permission from the council, wrote Couch and pointed out that the council had previously agreed to allow zoning that Couch seemed to find somewhat better.
“The next step, though,” Hamilton’s letter to Couch reads, “is one that practically requires the active participation of property owners: rezoning property into the newly created zoning district. However, the Town has yet to receive any application from you to rezone your property into this Town-created zoning district. The Town therefore cannot move the process further as to your Villages of Summerfield Farms project without your active participation. We are hopeful that the Town and you can begin the discussion on this and other next steps.”
That letter got a scathing response from Attorney Tom Terrell, who’s representing Couch. Terrell started by saying that he’d made it clear to town officials that all communication should go through him, not directly to Couch.
“Mr. Hamilton requests meetings with the town, yet it is difficult to impossible to discern who is in charge,” Terrell’s letter states. “The mayor’s prerogatives seem to have been usurped, and Summerfield will soon have no town manager, no town attorney, and only a partially-staffed planning board after the majority on the council summarily purged these civil servants in recent weeks. Mr. Hamilton’s letter is the latest salvo from a town in chaos whose government seems to exist for the singular purpose of preventing a private landowner from building homes for middle-income North Carolinians.”
The lengthy letter had many other cutting remarks as well.
“In sum,” it concludes, “I afford no trust or confidence in the true purposes behind Mr. Hamilton’s letter, and I’m not even certain for whom he speaks. In a few short months, he and three of his colleagues have taken extreme action to further frustrate Mr. Couch’s plans for his own land, purging Summerfield of staff who previously worked with Mr. Couch’s team in good faith.”
Terrell added, “In almost 40 years working in municipalities and counties throughout this state and other states, I have never witnessed the level of dysfunction and self-manufactured drama as is on display right now in Summerfield – all to stop a private citizen and long-time Summerfield resident from building residences …”
In a letter to the Northwest Observer and Summerfield Scoop newspapers, Hamilton pointed out that he was in fact representing the town council.
Hamilton wrote that he had stated at a Town Council meeting that he wanted to contact Couch and see if they could get him to the table. “All of the council agreed,” Hamilton wrote. “I also asked Mayor Sessoms directly if he saw any issue with that, and he stated, ‘Absolutely not.’ Sessoms went on to tell me, ‘If they’ll talk to you, I encourage it.’”
Terrell’s biting response seems to be a confirmation to many in the town that Couch will continue to pursue de-annexation, and therefore the town should focus its persuasion efforts on the General Assembly going forward.
Mr Couch
Summerfield would be a great location for low income government subsidized housing . There are acres and acres of undeveloped property. You rent is guaranteed by the government, so what’s the problem? Think about it and help less fortunate people.
A solution for Greensboro’s ever growing homeless, drug addiction and alcoholic’s to call “HOME”. Thank you Mr Crotch for assisting the city of Greensboro.
If the Town doesn’t want growth, then they will go broke. No tax revenue. If the Town wants no growth, then they need to buy up everyone’s property, not just Mr. Couch. NC is a property rights state. If you aren’t going to let ANYONE develop their property, then buy it from them.
If the land isn’t yours there isn’t much to argue about. Summerfield has a big NIMBY problem.
What is a “property rights state?” Why equate growth with progress? There was a time when population growth was needed by cities to fill jobs and foster innovation. The mantra was if a city does not grow, it will die. That is no longer accurate for a variety of reasons. Tom Terrell has been a developer’s go-to lawyer for a long time. He is well known to city council members. In other words, he has influence. It is imperative that the NC legislature reject Couch’s attempt at de-annexation. Why would the NC legislature agree to such a large swath of land to be de-annexed? It is inconceivable that the legislature would agree to such a harmful act. The number of acres is huge, and the location of the land is in the middle of Summerfield. I do not believe that the original intent of de-annexation was meant to include a thousand acres in the middle of a small town. Return to the reasoning behind the de-annexation legislation and I believe it will be found that Couch’s de-annexation request does not meet the original intent. If the legislature votes for the de-annexation, then we will know that Couch and Terrell have influence that goes beyond this one piece of legislation.
Terrell was right: Summerfield leadership is dysfunctional. And has been. Once Couch explored de-annexation, Mayor Sessoms moved quickly to gather the board to attempt to negotiate something, rather than nothing. Along comes an election, new members on board, including an outspoken attorney (Hamilton) who is on video and in print taking others to task, and leading the charge to not renew the town manager’s contract. And the city attorney resigned as well. Hamilton takes it upon himself to send a letter to David Couch when he should have communicated with his lawyer. Don’t all lawyers know this? Summerfield has gone from “doing nothing” to loose cannon (insult everyone) overnight. We shall see if this new firebrand brings Summerfield what the residents want. I doubt it.
What does Tom Terrell know about the leadership in Summerfield? Is it because the leadership does not roll over and show its belly? Tom Terrell lives on a large farm in Randolph County and is insulated from the problems that Couch’s growth will bring. Representing developers like Couch is how he has made his money along with his law firm, Fox Rothchild. The point is Terrell’s opinion may be clouded.
Poor Summerfield long time residents. They’ve fought for a long time. I’ve lived by Lake Higgins since 1978, and watched the urban sprawl edge out this way, and it’s pretty miserable now, especially since 840 was finished. I guess, as usual, the developers are buddies with those who make the decisions, they get richer and richer, and the little people lose.
Hamilton is a Lawyer first and Councilman second and knows how to cover his tracts and divert away from the actual facts of what he was given permission to do. According to the video at the last special called meeting, Hamilton was instructed to contact Attorney Thelan to arrange communications between Attorney Tom Terrell and Mr. Couch. No other council member nor the Mayor agreed for him to seek individual contact with Mr. Couch. Jonathan Hamilton deserved every scathing word Mr. Terrell wrote to him. Unfortunately, Summerfield will pay the price for his actions. Have doubt in what I’m saying, please feel free to watch the evidence yourself on the Summerfield Town Hall Facebook page.
Greensboro residents pay attention! If you were smart you would be helping Summerfield stop this deannexation by writing legislators! Why? Because once he deannexes, GREENSBORO TAXPAYERS are getting ready to pay $50 to $60 million to run water and sewer to Couch’s land! If he deannexes, YOU get stuck paying to make this greedy tyrant richer! And you get to deal with him and his blustering attorney.
If this developer can misuse forced legislative Deannexation to remove the CENTER of a town, no municipality is safe. What town is next? This is Raleigh overstepping just so one man can avoid development ordinances. The UDO was updated just for Couch! It allows to allow 3.7 residences per acre on Couch’s land. He can build 3700 apartments, townhomes, quadplexes, homes all DOUBLING the population of Summerfield).
Summerfield’s Town website has a list of legislators to email under a tab “Saving Summerfield” if anyone agrees this horrible precedent should be stopped!
Mr. Couch needs to go on and de-annex as the plans he has are too good for what this community has devolved into and then the town council can double the tax rate on Henson Farms, Forest and so on. The left won’t learn anything here, but at least it would cost them.
Summerfield leadership only wants high income residents, not the folks that are in other tax brackets. Trashy well to do folks despise others with less and their is definitely some fear of people moving in that look different. What terrible leadership. Why does Guilford County have so many whack jobs in their elected town and city officials? Between Greensboro, Sedalia, and Summerfield that’s a whole lotta bad government leaders.
summerfield should consider ‘gated communities’ with ‘private security’ & allow those with better than average incomes build their dream houses there. are local wells PFAS contaminated? can summerfields existing water/sewer infrastructure handle all this building? is he building school, police, fire, hospital, nursing home etc ?