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City officials have acted to address a well-documented housing shortage locally by paving the way for a developer to potentially build up to 110 houses on vacant farmland in the Toast area.
The Mount Airy Board of Commissioners decided Thursday night to annex the nearly 32-acre site at 178 Strickland Farm Lane and rezone it for R-6 (General Residential) use in a pair of unanimous votes.
North Franklin Development Co. of High Point, the owner of the property, voluntarily requested the annexation along with the zoning change from a present Surry County classification.
Board approval for each occurred after a public hearing on those issues which drew near-unanimous support by speakers including leaders of local business groups and other community entities occupying a crowded council chambers.
Only one person spoke against the project, a woman who lives on Pipers Gap Road in the vicinity of the planned housing development. She cited concerns about increased traffic and problems with high density resulting.
While those were acknowledged as legitimate considerations by supporters of the annexation/rezoning, the prevailing sentiment was that the need for housing carried greater weight.
“It’s slim pickings out there,” Surry Economic Development Partnership (EDP) President Blake Moyer said during the public hearing — highlighting the realization that new industries recruited by the EDP correspondingly require homes for their workers.
That was echoed by Chris Lumsden, president and CEO of Northern Regional Hospital.
“We have to have affordable housing, which we do not have right now,” said Lumsden, calling this “something that is very much needed in our community.”
The hospital official explained that he was referring to homes for nurses, teachers and others.
United Fund of Surry Executive Director Melissa Hiatt said during the hearing that she often fields calls regarding the housing need.
This has included one from a woman going to work for Mount Airy City Schools who can’t find somewhere to live for less than $1,100 per month.
Some people with jobs in Mount Airy are forced to live in places such as King or Winston-Salem and commute, according to Thursday night’s discussion.
Frequent mention was made of the 2023 Surry County Housing Study focusing on the shortage.
Hiatt referred to how local government leaders frequently discuss the need for more skilled-labor jobs and increased revenue streams from property taxes resulting from economic development.
Yet “we don’t have anywhere for skilled labor to live,” the United Fund official lamented.
“This is an organic opportunity for us,” Hiatt said in urging the city commissioners to approve the requests for accommodating the new housing.
Greg Perkins of the Public Policy Committee of the Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce, also weighed in on behalf of that organization.
“The position of the chamber on this is if we want to continue to be viewed as a vibrant, growing community, we absolutely have to make the decision to approve this,” Perkins said of the developer’s requests.
“If we don’t, every other developer is looking at us,” Perkins said of further opportunities for growth which might be stifled as a result.
The chamber representative indicated that Thursday’s decision was one of the most important to have come before the city board.
Larry Johnson, a member of the Surry Board of Commissioners representing the Mount Airy District, said he was excited about the project.
“It will be good for Surry County and the city of Mount Airy.”
Opposition remarks
Pam Tripus, the Pipers Gap Road resident, said at the public hearing she is concerned about the effects of the major housing development being injected into that community near the intersection of Pipers Gap and North Franklin roads.
“We’re a low-density area,” Tripus said, a use prescribed for it in the City of Mount Airy Comprehensive Plan, a guidebook for growth.
However, city planners have gone on record as saying this should be amended to medium intensity for that area.
They believe such an exception is warranted due to “the community’s need-demand for mid-tier housing.”
But Tripus sees the development as leading to a situation even denser than “you have here downtown.”
In addition, Tripus says drainage issues already exist on Pipers Gap Road and West Virginia Street nearby, along with troubling traffic patterns.
“I think Pipers Gap Road has become (Interstate) 77’s alternate route coming in,” according to the hearing speaker, who said this includes “a lot of tractor-trailer traffic.”
Tripus, describing herself as a defender of farmland, fears Thursday night’s action could set a bad precedent for similar sites being targeted by developers and creating “sprawl.”
City officials seemed sensitive to concerns raised by Tripus — which effectively were eclipsed by the need for housing.
“We have to take a broad-brush approach to what is the best for the most,” Mayor Jon Cawley said.
Developer sensitive
The annexation of the property on Strickland Farm Road will allow it to receive municipal services including fire, police and garbage.
It has direct access to public water, and the developer will install a gravity sewer line of about 1,400 feet along North Franklin Road to serve the parcel.
The developer also is to provide a sewer lift station to pump sewage to the new gravity line because of elevation constraints.
Representatives of North Franklin Development Co. attended Thursday night’s meeting to pledge their commitment to a worthy endeavor.
“We pride ourselves on being good neighbors,” said Tom Flanagan,” a development official for the project.
Flanagan was joined by Winston-Salem attorneys Hank and David Niblock.
“We think this is a great opportunity for this community,” Hank Niblock told the crowd.
Mount Airy officials have said the development could include up to 110 houses of 1,200 to 1,400 square feet, but no such specifics were offered Thursday night.
“This is the first step tonight,” Hank Niblock said of gaining approvals.
In acknowledging concerns about traffic and runoff, “all will be addressed in due time, but we don’t have any of those answers tonight,” he advised in predicting a positive outcome.
“We think this can serve the community well.”
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