Wake Forest approves rezoning for 55.93-acre Harris Road tract with permanent conservation easement commitments

The Wake Forest Board of Commissioners voted to approve a rezoning application filed by Church Street Company to rezone 55.93 acres on Harris Road after the developer and conservation advocates negotiated changes to the project conditions.

Town planner Patrick (last name not specified) outlined updates the applicant provided since the work session, including a commitment that 3% of the multifamily units would be affordable at 80% of area median income, flexibility allowing townhomes to be developed either as individual lots or as multifamily on a single parcel, and a requirement that open space not accepted by a conservation entity be recorded as an undisturbed conservation easement. Staff also noted an increase in stormwater protection to match the draft Unified Development Ordinance’s 25‑year storm standard and an aesthetic commitment to stone walls and common brick materials.

"Staff still recommends approval," Patrick told the board before the public hearing began.

Applicant George Delonge of Church Street Company described years of negotiation and said the developer sought to respond to community input by conserving a substantial portion of the site and improving buffers along Harris Road: "From the beginning, we've had a very flexible and willing partner... our goal has always been... to find a development that the town would approve," he said.

Representatives of Joyner Harris Forest Conservation and other conservation groups urged the board to require permanent protection for the site's most sensitive areas. Angela DePaolo, representing Joyner Harris Forest Conservation, said her group’s petition had drawn more than 6,000 signatures and that scientists in the group had identified Piedmont bluff features, streams, wetlands and mature forest on the tract. "Approximately 30 acres of preserved open space is pretty substantial," Gary Skinner of the conservation group told the board, urging a permanent conservation easement and public access planning.

Residents raised concerns about traffic, school capacity, stormwater runoff, retaining walls and visibility of buffers. Speakers pointed out that the site sits adjacent to Joiner Park and that preserving tree canopy and protecting headwater streams was a priority for many neighbors.

Traffic improvements described by staff in the developer’s conditions included a new dedicated right‑turn lane from westbound Capitol Boulevard to northbound traffic, a two‑way left‑turn lane along the length of the property on Harris Road, and left/right turn lanes at site access points; the developer also agreed to proportionate fees toward future signalization warrants where needed. Staff said widening and turn lanes tied to the development would be required, and longer‑term intersection improvements would be addressed proportionally if future warrants are met.

Several commissioners voiced that the revised plan represented a substantial conservation gain compared with what might be developed by right. Commissioner Wright noted the tradeoffs between conserving the current parcel and what could be built under by‑right subdivision, and said the application preserved more open land than earlier proposals.

At the close of the hearing, a commissioner moved to approve the rezoning with a required consistency statement. The motion passed by voice vote; the meeting record states the motion carried unanimously. The approval incorporates the applicant’s signed conditions, which include the conservation easement commitment, the 3% affordable unit minimum at 80% AMI, increased stormwater measures to the draft UDO standard (25‑year event), enhanced buffers and architectural/landscape commitments.

Staff noted that if the property were developed at low‑density, by‑right single‑family lots, fewer transportation improvements would be required and the town would not secure the conservation commitments included in the rezoning conditions. The town will require a master plan and site‑level reviews that implement UDO standards for parking, sidewalks, retaining walls and tree replacement when the applicant files for subsequent approvals.

The board’s approval triggers required follow‑up: the applicant must submit a master plan and construction plans to satisfy stormwater, transportation and UDO standards; the conservation area is to be preserved either by donation to a conservation entity or by recorded, permanent conservation easement if not accepted.