Statesville council approves special-use permit for 14 townhomes near Winston Avenue after evidentiary hearing

The Statesville City Council approved a special-use permit for a 14-unit townhome development on Winston Avenue following an evidentiary hearing that drew testimony from the applicant’s engineers and appraiser, city planning staff and an opposition witness representing the Statesville Housing Authority.

Applicant attorney Lisa Valdez introduced expert testimony from civil engineer Corey Sloan and appraiser Michael Berkowitz, who described the one-acre site plan, utility capacity and design and concluded the project complied with the Unified Development Code. Sloan said the plan would place 14 townhomes in four buildings (three 3-unit buildings and one 5-unit building), provide the city-required 20% common open space (10% active), accommodate two parking spaces per unit with shared driveways, and that NCDOT had provisionally cleared the driveway configuration pending permit. Berkowitz’s impact study concluded qualitatively that the proposed development would not “substantially injure” adjacent property values and could increase land value by changing the land’s highest-and-best use.

Planning director Erica Martin and planner Joseph Campbell told the council that while the site met UDC minimum standards and had TRC approval, the proposal was not “in conformance” with the 2045 Land Development Plan’s guidance for the Shelton Avenue and Southern neighborhoods. Staff said the plan envisions small-scale multifamily or rear-loaded townhomes with grass front yards and that the applicant’s proposed lots were smaller and omitted front yards, creating a form and frontage the staff described as contextually insensitive.

Darba T. Scaff, executive director of the Statesville Housing Authority and president of the Statesville Community Richmond Corporation, testified for the opposition and said her organization owns parcels across Winston Avenue and has invested in corridor revitalization. She argued the project as designed could preclude future investments and urged delay for additional neighborhood engagement and design consideration.

Council members weighed the competing evidence and legal standards. The hearing officer reminded the council the applicant bore the initial burden of proof and that the council must assess whether substantial, competent and material evidence satisfied each required finding for the special-use permit. Several council members said they were sympathetic to staff and neighborhood concerns about neighborhood character but noted the UDC lists townhomes as a special-use permit in the R5MF district and that the land-use plan’s guidance had not been codified into UDC text standards requiring rear-loaded units or front yards.

Council member (speaker 15) moved to approve the special-use permit and asked the city attorney to draft a formal order reflecting the evidence and the council’s discussion for adoption at the next meeting; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously. The council did not adopt final written findings that night but instructed the city attorney to prepare the order for the next meeting.

The developer said the target price would be in the mid-$200,000s for most units, with three garage-front units priced slightly higher, and characterized the project as a contribution toward affordable/attainable homeownership in an area slated for revitalization.

What happens next: the council requested the city attorney prepare a draft order reflecting the hearing record and the council’s decision; that order will return to the council for formal adoption at a subsequent meeting.