Feb. 17 - 23, 2017
bringing the local news home to northwest Guilford County since 1996
nwobserver.com
Citizens, council continue debating PD zoning district With a second public hearing scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 16, questions about a proposed zoning district seem as abundant as answers by PATTI STOKES SUMMERFIELD – When Summerfield Town Council decided to hold a Question and Answer session on Feb. 9, it hoped to clear up misinformation and address citizen concerns surrounding a proposed text amendment that
would add a Planned Development zoning district to the town’s development ordinance. The Q&A session followed the Planning and Zoning Board’s Jan. 23 public hearing, at which 48 citizens spoke almost equally for and against
the proposed PD district. It was held in Summerfield First Baptist Church’s Christian Life Center in order to accommodate the anticipated crowd – and a good thing, as more than 300 people attended. Although many drifted home a few hours after the session began at 6:30 p.m., about 40 people remained when the last question was answered shortly before 11 p.m.
...continued on p. 22
Sometime this spring, North Carolina Department of Transportation will hold design public hearings for all sections of the U.S. 158 $110 million improvements project in Forsyth and Guilford counties. Section C of the project includes a 6.5 mile-long stretch that begins at Anthony Road in Stokesdale and ends at U.S. 220; it entails a four-lane, median-divided bypass around Stokesdale. See details on p. 5
Committee continues ordinance review process Larger minimum lot sizes, what constitutes a nuisance, and dumpster screening regulations are topics being discussed by Stokesdale’s Ordinance Review Committee by STEVE MANN STOKESDALE – An ordinance like Summerfield’s, which requires developments to have an average lot density of 60,000 square feet, could take some of the pressure off Stokesdale to expand its water system, according to a member of the Ordinance Review Committee.
In unfinished business during its Jan. 17 meeting at Stokesdale Town Hall, the committee continued its discussion about lot size regulations that would ensure adequate groundwater supplies for wells. Robert Wurz, who chairs the committee, said his research of Summerfield development ordinance 4-2.1B didn’t reveal anything specifically covering lot sizes for well recharge. But during the Dec. 13 meeting of the Summerfield Town Council, an excerpt from an email sent in 2005 to former Summerfield Mayor Bill Peterson spelled that out. “The 60,000-square-foot average lot size requirement for lower density was
...continued on p. 3
There are two schools of thought. Do we try to plumb the whole town with water, or do we allow for part of the town – whoever is developing – to choose to put in a 60,000-square-foot requirement that would allow for that recharge?” Councilman Tim Jones
IN THIS ISSUE
Your Questions ............................4 News in Brief ................................5 Stokesdale Town Council ..........5 Business Notes ............................8 Bits & Pieces ................................9 Student Profiles ......................... 10 Youth/School News .................. 12 NWO Real Estate ....................... 13 Real Estate Briefs....................... 14 Room to roam? ......................... 18 Real Estate Transactions ..........20 Community Calendar .............. 21 Crime/Incident Report .............24 Grins & Gripes ...........................25 Opinions ....................................26 Classifieds ................................. 27 Index of Advertisers ................. 31