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Board tables Smith Station Crossing rezoning after residents raise traffic, school concerns
Summary
Faced with hours of public comment about traffic safety on Smith Station Road and potential school impacts, the Board voted unanimously to table the proposed rezoning to allow further negotiation on right-of-way acquisition and to seek additional information.
The Board of Supervisors voted 6-0 to table a rezoning application known as Smith Station Crossing after a lengthy public hearing in which residents faulted traffic operations on Smith Station Road, questioned school capacity projections and urged stronger guarantees for intersection improvements.
The application from Denali Capital Group/Tricord Inc. would rezone about 58.5 acres to a planned development housing district to allow up to 99 single-family homes. At the hearing staff and the applicant described proffers that include a 30-foot right-of-way dedication along Smith Station Road, construction of a full left-turn lane and a full right-turn lane at the community entrance, a commitment to preserve more than 60% of the site as open space and a cap of $1 million on the cost the developer will incur for an off-site intersection improvement at Smith Station and Courthouse Road.
Applicant Mike Jones said the project would reduce the number of individual driveways on the curve of Smith Station Road, consolidate access, and immediately improve a sight-line problem he said has contributed to crashes in the corridor. "We're going to be better off with the rezoning than being stuck with the current situation with really no hope of change in the foreseeable future," Jones said.
Residents described long daily delays, safety concerns for pedestrians and students, and doubts that the developer could obtain the needed off-site right-of-way from a property near the convenience store. "Adding any homes at the proposed site directly decreases our homeowners' safety," Ernest Malcolm Jr., a Westfield resident, told the board.
Planning staff noted the project lies inside the county's primary development boundary and that the proposed density remains below the future land-use map maximum for low-density residential. Staff also flagged a gap: an archeological/Phase 1 historic resource survey recommended by the state had not been completed and would be required with later permit steps.
After hearing residents and the applicant, the board voted to table the rezoning to the board's second May meeting to allow additional conversations about acquiring the right-of-way and to gather more information on construction mitigation, school impacts and alternatives. The motion to table passed 6-0.
Action: The board tabled rezoning case R22-5, Smith Station Crossing, to the board's second May meeting for additional negotiation and follow-up; vote 6-0.
