Council approves conditional rezoning for Winston Point Phase 3H despite resident objections

The Clayton Town Council voted June 3 to approve a conditional rezoning (application 2024-138-CZM) allowing Winston Point Phase 3H to be redeveloped from a planned church site into 87 single-family attached town homes on roughly 12 acres in the town’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. The council framed the approval as an ordinance adoption that is “inconsistent” with the town’s 2045 comprehensive growth plan and directed staff to update the parcel’s future land use designation to high-density residential if the rezoning is recorded.

Assistant Planning Director Haley Downey told council the request converts a long-vacant church parcel and that staff recommended approval with conditions despite inconsistency with the comprehensive plan, and that the planning board had recommended approval after two hearings. The application includes 13 standard conditions, caps the phase at 87 units, prohibits direct access to Winston Road, and allows two deviations from the Unified Development Ordinance: counting one-car garages toward required spaces and reducing guest parking from 22 to 11 spaces.

Applicant counsel Toby Coleman and the project team said the parcel is part of an older 840-acre master plan and that Dr. Horton, the current purchaser, is not the original master developer. Engineer Preston Royster and traffic lead Nate McAdams presented the concept plan, noting two NC DOT access points, a stormwater pond and an active recreation area the applicant added after the planning board’s comments. McAdams said the current proposal generates about 612 daily trips for this phase and remains below the original master-plan traffic assumptions, yielding an estimated reduction of roughly 6,700 daily trips compared with the original master plan.

Opponents at the public hearing — led by Winston Point HOA board member Lauren McCort and other residents — said the development would be incompatible with the neighborhood’s low-density designation, exacerbate already-noted stormwater, road and amenity shortfalls, and create safety and connectivity problems because the site sits in the ETJ and sidewalks would not be maintained by DOT. McCort urged the council to resolve unresolved infrastructure obligations before adding density. Resident John Scarpa criticized the plan’s aesthetics and environmental effects and urged rejection.

Council members discussed the tension between a legacy master plan that predates the town’s current code and the need to address outstanding infrastructure and design concerns. Council added a specific condition, at the applicant’s request, requiring the developer’s covenants and restrictions to include an enforceable provision that residents maintain garages in a condition to accommodate parking (intended to reduce driveway/sidewalk spillover). After a motion to approve the ordinance as inconsistent with the comprehensive plan and a verbal amendment to require garage-parking covenants, council voted to adopt the rezoning ordinance (Ordinance No. 2026-06-03). The motion passed following a second and a brief roll-call-style in-chamber voice vote.

The council and staff emphasized practical limits: sidewalks within the phase are constrained because roads will be NC DOT rights-of-way in the ETJ and DOT generally will not maintain sidewalks in that location; staff said the town does require safety fencing around private stormwater control measures and that water and sewer plans for the phase have been submitted to Carolina Water Service and approved. Several members asked staff and the developer to continue working with DOT and the HOA to address connectivity, mailbox/kiosk siting, and amenity ownership and construction timelines.

The council’s action is parcel-specific to Phase 3H; any other phases will require separate review and approvals. The developer and staff said they will coordinate with the HOA and address remaining deficiencies from earlier phases through required corrections, deed transfers and bonding where appropriate.