Up to 110 houses may be built locally

A major housing development is being proposed for Mount Airy, which could help alleviate a shortage of homes locally.

“We’re talking about 100 to 110 houses,” Mayor Jon Cawley said after a city council meeting Thursday night.

During that meeting, commissioners had voted 5-0 to schedule a public hearing for later this month on a request for the voluntary annexation of a parcel of about 32 acres to accommodate the residential development.

The site now described as vacant farmland is located at 178 Strickland Farm Lane, which occupies a corner area near the intersection of North Franklin and Pipers Gap roads.

In addition to the annexation, the owner of the property, North Franklin Development Co. of High Point, is asking that it be rezoned from a present Surry County classification of R-L (Residential Limited) to the city’s R-6 (General Residential) zone.

The public hearing to give citizens a chance to weigh in on the annexation and zoning requests is scheduled for the next meeting of the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners on June 20 at 6 p.m.

City Manager Darren Lewis said Friday that houses of 1,200 to 1,400 square feet have been envisioned for the site, although there is nothing concrete yet with the plans.

Mayor Cawley assured that market-rate residences will be involved, which is good news for the stressed local market as documented in the Surry County Housing Study released in 2023.

This factor was addressed by the Mount Airy Planning Board, an advisory body to the commissioners, when it reviewed the proposal at hand on May 29 and voted 8-0 to recommend its approval by the latter.

The city planning group found that the proposal for the area in question does not conform to future land-use recommendations in the City of Mount Airy Comprehensive Plan, a guidebook for such issues.

It prescribes a low-intensity use for the property, which planners advocate being amended to medium intensity.

They believe an exception is warranted in light of the present situation, citing “the community’s need-demand for mid-tier housing” as highlighted in last year’s study, coupled with the ability to provide public utilities to the parcel.

The sentiment among the Planning Board was that a nice development would result on the Strickland Farm Road property, one member said Friday.

It has direct access to public water, and the developer would install a gravity sewer line of about 1,400 feet along North Franklin Road to serve the parcel.

The developer also would need to install a sewer lift station to pump sewage to the new gravity line because of elevation constraints.

If annexed, city fire, police and garbage services can be provided to the property.

It previously was owned by James R. Strickland and Jennie B. Strickland.