New development guidelines could be in place along West Friendly Avenue in Greensboro

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) – A re-zoning battle along West Friendly Avenue in Greensboro has sparked a fire for the neighbors to prevent future battles.

They applied and went through the process of a neighborhood conservation overlay, which is otherwise known as NCO.

It’s essentially a way for neighbors to work with the city and define new zoning guidelines that any future development along West Friendly Avenue would have to follow.

On Monday night, the West Friendly Avenue NCO went in front of the city’s planning and zoning board for a recommendation before it gets handed off to the city council. It would be up to the council for final approval. That’s expected to happen at their meeting in mid-October.

“If we don’t do this then we will lose our community and the environment that we have,” said John Drinkard, who lives along West Friendly Avenue.

Drinkard and his neighbors have a united front to prevent Glenn Drew’s development proposal turned into a new set of guidelines known as a neighborhood conservation overlay.

The NCO will not apply to any proposals in place like Drew’s. It will only apply to future development.

“It gives us a sense that we don’t have to fight the battle every time there is new property being developed,” Drinkard said.

Only one neighborhood, Westridge Road, has completed an NCO. If approved, the Friendly Avenue NCO would be the second one in the entire city.

“Some of our older neighborhoods the zoning that is in place currently was not in place when the neighborhood was built … Sometimes, there is mismatches, and this is an opportunity for the neighborhood to have some input on how those can be tweaked,” Planning Department Manager at the City of Greensboro Russ Clegg said.

The Friendly Avenue NCO runs from Holden Road to Westridge Road. The main focus comes down to four details for developers: the setbacks from the road, the side setbacks, the height of buildings and the tree canopy.

“We are not against new development. As an architect, I see how new developments can make a property and surrounding environment better and enhance it. We’ve just seen in the past that developers often have a bottom line that they’re trying to target,” Drinkard said.

With a focus on the future of Friendly Avenue, they were able to complete the process in about one year.

“I think they are really focused on what is major importance to them,” Clegg said.

They all agree it’s time to protect their street, its views and the neighborhood they love.

“We have to get something in place to give us protection for what we have remaining,” Drinkard said.

If the city council approves the NCO, it immediately goes into effect, and any future developments would need to comply with the new guidelines.

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