Gaston County Commissioners continue Century Communities rezoning after residents, commissioners raise traffic and density concerns

The Gaston County Board of Commissioners on March 25 continued a public hearing on a conditional rezoning request from Century Communities Southeast LLC that would allow a planned residential development of 138 single‑family lots on about 49.64 acres just outside the town of Dallas.

Planning Director Jamie Kimberlew told commissioners the proposal would rezone nine parcels from R‑1 (Single‑Family Limited) with the U.S. Urban Standards overlay to CDRS‑8 (Conditional District Residential, 8,000 sq. ft. base) and that the developer seeks reliefs including a minimum lot size of 6,600 sq. ft. instead of the UDO’s 8,000 sq. ft., smaller front porches and other dimensional changes. Kimberlew said the site plan shows roughly 44% of the site as open space and that the Town of Dallas provided a “will serve” letter for water and sewer but that the developer must extend and petition lines to the town; she also noted the county will not bond water and sewer infrastructure and that final plat approval requires construction and testing prior to county signoff.

The nut graf: The continuation gives the developer and county additional time to negotiate conditions after residents and several commissioners raised concerns about traffic on Dallas Stanley Highway, emergency access, pond safety and the proposed lot‑size relief. The planning board recommended approval, 7‑1, but commissioners asked staff to collect further options and conditions before a final vote.

Developer Bryce Dimitruck, representing Century Communities, described the project as clustered nearer the road with about 44% open space and said the developer followed the TIA (traffic impact analysis) recommendations. “We are following DOT’s recommendation of doing a hundred foot of storage in order to get residents off of Dallas Stanley Highway,” Dimitruck said, describing a turn‑lane storage length NCDOT requested. He also said the project had been reduced from an earlier plan of about 155 lots to 138 lots.

Residents at the hearing urged the board to slow or reject the zoning change. Crystal Jenkins, who lives at 253 Keizer Dairy Road, read a written statement saying the existing nearby developments are “an eyesore” and that the additional homes would increase traffic, noise and strain on schools and emergency services. “The only ones who benefit from this are those with financial gain,” Jenkins said. Other residents and at least one commissioner pointed to a recent crash at the intersection of Dallas Stanley Highway and Keizer Dairy Road as evidence of existing traffic risk.

Kimberlew read capacity figures provided that afternoon by Gaston County Schools: Carr Elementary at about 82.7% capacity, W.C. Friday Middle at 83.5% and North Gaston High at 92%. The staff presentation also cited a GEMS estimate of roughly 3.12 calls per 1,000 population and used the county household average (2.47) to estimate an additional ~341 residents for the proposed subdivision.

Commissioners asked whether conditions could raise the minimum lot size or otherwise reduce density; staff said changes to conditions must be agreed with the applicant. After brief deliberation the board voted to continue the public hearing to the April 22 regular meeting and asked commissioners to submit any suggested conditions to staff by Friday of that week so staff and the developer could review them. The motion to continue was made by Commissioner Keiger and seconded by Commissioner Fraley and carried unanimously.

Ending: The board did not vote on the rezoning itself; county staff will circulate any requested conditions to the developer and place the item on the April 22 agenda for final action.