Forsyth County denies Pettit rezoning request amid neighborhood traffic, safety concerns

The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 19 voted unanimously to deny a zoning map amendment (docket F-16-45) filed by Charles William Pettit and related parties seeking to rezone roughly 39.85 acres near the Thomasville Road (NC 109) corridor from AG (Agricultural) to RS-20 (residential single-family, minimum 20,000-square-foot lots).

The motion to deny said the request was “not consistent with the recommendations of the legacy comprehensive plan and is neither reasonable nor in the public interest,” citing the site’s location at the terminus of Furman Drive and the potential for concentrated traffic at a hazardous intersection on Thomasville Road. The motion carried unanimously.

Why it matters: Commissioners and residents said the area’s existing road geometry and traffic patterns make additional residential development at the site a safety and congestion concern. Neighbors and several speakers during the reopened public hearing told the board that sight lines, narrow local roads and a history of crashes at nearby intersections created risks if the property were redeveloped with scores of new homes.

Applicant’s proposal and rationale: Property owner Charles William Pettit told commissioners he intended to develop a low-density retirement community — “patio homes designed for a retirement community” — with units he estimated would sell for about $450,000 and at a density he said would be below the county plan’s maximum. Pettit said the parcel is adjacent to county sewer and that his proposal would be much lower than the Legacy 2030 recommendation of up to eight dwellings per acre; he said his proposal would be approximately two dwellings per acre.

Neighborhood concerns: Multiple residents who live on or near Langdon Drive and Southland Avenue said those roads are narrow, have limited sight distance and already experience frequent collisions and backups. Linda Waller said she farms on Langdon Drive and described local roads as a “cattle path” that is hazardous. Mark Gough, who uses a wheelchair, and other speakers described near-misses and a December crash that blocked multiple roads. Several speakers urged that any rezoning be submitted instead as a special-use district so traffic and intersection mitigation could be addressed through site-plan conditions.

Staff review and context: Chris Murphy, Planning and Development Services director, briefed the board on the case and said the site appears on the South Suburban Area Plan with a general recommendation for low-density single-family residential (up to eight units per acre) and is within Growth Management Area 3. He said the planning board previously recommended approval, but county fire and NCDOT reviews had raised issues about access and intersection improvements. Murphy explained that NCDOT cannot require intersection improvements for a general-use rezoning because the adjacent right-of-way was not part of the petition; he said a special-use rezoning would allow a broader site-plan review and potentially broader mitigation.

Action: The board approved a motion to deny zoning map amendment F-16-45. The denial prevents the general-use rezoning requested by the applicant; the applicant had been offered the option to withdraw and resubmit as a special-use district but chose to leave the general-use request for board action.

What’s next: The denial means the property remains zoned AG and RS-20. Commissioners and residents discussed that a special-use rezoning could return with conditions that allow staff and DOT to evaluate and require road or turn-lane improvements if appropriate.

Speakers at the meeting included Charles William Pettit; Chris Murphy, Planning and Development Services director; and residents Linda Waller, Mark Gough, Timothy Treadway and Thomas Reed, among others.