Kernersville approves Linville Springs subdivision rezoning and development plan with buffer, NCDOT turn-lane conditions

The Town of Kernersville Board of Aldermen voted unanimously Aug. 5 to approve a land-use plan amendment, development plan amendment and a conditional rezoning for a 17.9-acre site off Linville Springs Road, clearing the way for a 47-lot single-family subdivision submitted by Combs Inc.

Catherine Garner, the town’s community development director, told the board the application includes two linked items: a change to the Kernersville development plan from “commercial neighborhood scale” to “medium-density residential” and a conditional rezoning, zoning docket K759A2, from General Office Special (GOS) to RS-7-C (residential single-family, 7,000-square-foot minimum lots) with an attached site plan.

Garner said the proposed density — 47 units on roughly 17.9 acres — equals 2.63 units per acre, well within the staff’s recommended medium-density residential category (0–7 units per acre). She told the board that Planning Board and staff recommended approval and that the proposed site plan reduces the number of dwellings from earlier proposals: “The previous rezoning request was for 6 units per acre … That site plan proposed 97 townhouse units … This site plan shows only 47 units.”

Developer representatives described the project and the applicants’ changes. Amanda Hodiern, the applicant’s agent, emphasized the proposal is a “downzoning” from the property’s current commercial/office designation and that the site-plan rezoning intentionally limits yield: “The site plan … limits the maximum yield or maximum number of homes to 47.” Owner Kevin Combs and civil engineer Dalton Ward were present to answer technical questions.

Traffic and stormwater were the principal issues raised during public comment. Garner and the developer said the North Carolina Department of Transportation will require dedicated left-turn lanes on Linville Springs Road to serve the new subdivision; the town placed a condition that required those improvements be completed before the first certificate of occupancy. The applicant’s materials used Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) trip-generation rates (residential detached dwelling at 9.44 trips per dwelling per day) to estimate about 443.7 daily trips from the project and peak-hour impacts of roughly 32.9 morning trips and 47 evening trips. NCDOT’s most recent average annual daily traffic count on Linville Springs Road was about 3,100 trips per day in 2023, down from a high of 4,100 in 2005.

Neighbors said they feared increased traffic and flooding. Lisa Swain Boss, who represents her mother, said the adjacent farm produces hay and that recreational use by future residents could damage the fields. Scott Mercer said stormwater already floods parts of his yard and asked who would be responsible for runoff tied to road improvements. Sarah Savanis said the town in 2023 had recognized Linville Springs Road as inadequate for increased traffic and urged either denial or a lower density.

Engineer Dalton Ward and the applicant responded to drainage concerns. Ward said the site’s stormwater design meets state minimums for water-quality treatment and detains the peak flow for the statutory 1-year, 24-hour design storm (the engineer cited a 2.77-inch, 24-hour design reference). Ward added the planned wet ponds and biocell will treat and detain the frequent storms the design standard requires, but he acknowledged “for large storms, it can make it worse,” a candid acknowledgement that very large, less-frequent storms could still produce overflow beyond the project’s capacity.

Planning Board added one condition after hearing adjacent property owners’ concerns: a 10-foot strip of existing vegetation shall be preserved and placed in an access and maintenance easement along the shared boundary with the neighboring parcel (Piedmont Natural Gas easement areas exempted). The Planning Board vote recommended town approval with that buffer condition.

On the board floor Alderman Apple moved to approve the development-plan amendment, and the board voted unanimously. Apple then moved to approve the rezoning and site plan (K759A2) with the staff and Planning Board recommendations and the added buffer condition; the motion passed unanimously.

Action summary: The Board approved the Kernersville development plan amendment (removing the neighborhood-scale commercial overlay and amending the thoroughfare plan to remove a proposed east–west Linville Springs extension) and rezoned the parcel to RS-7-C with a site-specific plan limiting the project to 47 single-family lots. Conditions include: construction of NCDOT-required turn lanes prior to issuance of the first certificate of occupancy; preservation of a 10-foot vegetative buffer in an access and maintenance easement maintained by the homeowners association (Piedmont Natural Gas easement exempt); required stormwater control measures on site (two wet ponds and one biocell); and compliance with the Highway Corridor Overlay District and applicable UDO standards.

Why it matters: The approvals convert a commercial-designated site to residential while shrinking a previously proposed higher-density plan. The required road improvements and the preservations condition aim to reduce traffic impacts and provide visual separation from adjacent agricultural land, but neighbors remain concerned about stormwater and longer-term traffic changes tied to regional road projects.

Next steps: Staff will record the rezoning ordinance and the site-plan conditions, review civil construction plans for the stormwater devices, secure necessary NCDOT coordination on left-turn lanes, and record the access and maintenance easement for the vegetative buffer. The applicant indicated it plans to begin work “as soon as possible.”