FAYETTEVILLE -- Planning commission members expressed surprise when no one objected to a 15-unit "cluster housing" development on 1629 Crossover Road in a residential neighborhood, a project the commission recommended unanimously.
"I'm kind of amazed," commission member Porter Winston said when chairwoman Sarah Sparkman called for public responses and got none. Vice chairman Matthew Johnson attributed the lack of opposition to the "clever design" by developer Community By Design, a local Fayetteville business. Johnson praised the detail shown in the developer's plan. All commission recommendations are subject to final approval by the city council.
The property involved lies west of the "t" formed where East Inwood Lane intersects North Crossover Road. The 1.93 acres there had been limited to four units per acre under its residential single family zoning. The commission recommended a large scale development with 15 units with common grounds for both parking and pedestrian use rather than a parking lot. The plan would keep the residents' cars off the street and mostly out of sight of neighbors, city staff said.
A different proposal for dense development in 2020 drew a dozen people to speak in opposition at the city council meeting that gave final approval. Both the old and the new projects are near the historic Peter Smyth House. The house, built in 1886, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its architectural significance. The older proposal contained some commercial development.
Commission member Jimm Garlock said he was "not a fan" of housing this dense in an established neighborhood but that the plan complied with the city's rules for clustered housing so there was no basis to turn the plan down. Member Mary Madden agreed, saying she hoped the project "lives up to its promise."
In other business, action on a proposed 331-unit apartment complex was tabled until the commission's Sept. 12 meeting. Planning staff told the commission that developers Blue & Associates asked for the delay. The 10.55 acres involved are located east of East Sain Street and North Front Street. Mud Creek runs along the northern border of the property.
The commission recommended triplexes containing 21 dwellings on a 1.8-acre strip south of West Wedington Drive and north of Owl Creek. Developer ESI's request was approved with some commission members expressing reluctance but, again, acknowledging the plan complied with city zoning and land use regulations.