ASHEBORO — The City of Asheboro council met Thursday with a proposal for a new subdivision as well as updates on various parks on the agenda.
The first action the council took was to accept a withdrawal of a variance request from the Windcrest Acres subdivision public hearing that was held and continued at last month’s meeting.
“The city received a written request from the Windcrest Acres, Section 4, withdrawing the variance request that was seeking to remove curb and gutter as a requirement for the development.”
The council was then presented with a presentation recognizing downtown Asheboro making it on the National Register of Historic Places.
“It’s quite an achievement that Asheboro has made landing its downtown on the National Register of Historic Places,” said Restoration Specialist Brett Sturm of the State Historic Preservation Office. “There were several existing properties in Asheboro on the National Register already, but what this district has achieved, which encompasses the core of historic downtown, links and actually links several existing mill properties that were already listed on the Register. This is the first time in my tenure that I’ve seen a core downtown be listed on the National Register.”
The council also approved a building reuse grant application as part of an economic development project with UpStyled Goods and Salon, LLC.
“UpStyled Goods and Salon is located just down the road at 122 South Church Street, and they sell re-textiled branded goods produced at Trotter Sewing Company as well as upcycled goods from other producers,” said President of the Randolph County Economic Development Corporation, Kevin Franklin. “The building will also continue to house the salon, although that will be separated from the retail space.”
The council held a legislative hearing for an application to amend R10 (CZ) zoning on the property at 1223 Crestview Church Road, which is located on the west side of Zoo Parkway, in order to allow a new residential planned unit development, including a subdivision sketch design.
“The rezoning request is to an amended R-10 conditional zoning to allow a planned unit development on this tract,” said Robert Wilhoit, who was representing the developers. “The initial application before the planning board was for 58 units, and it’s now been reduced to 44 townhomes.”
Since townhomes are regarded as planned unit developments according to the city’s code, the developers needed special permission from the council in order to approve the development.
“We’re looking at just about 10 acres, and the property is currently undeveloped,” said Community Development Director Trevor Nuttall. “The request before the council now seeks approval to allow 44 attached single-family dwellings in 44 subdivided lots. Under the city’s code, townhomes are reviewed as planned unit developments.”
According to Nuttall, the units shown on the site plan will be approximately 1,000 square feet inside, include a one-car garage, and each lot will contain enough space for three vehicles.
Following the hearing, the council approved both the amendment to the conditional zoning district as well as the preliminary sketch plan.
The council was then given an update on Frazier Park capital improvements and usage by City Manager John Ogburn.
“The Facilities and Maintenance crews have been working diligently to upgrade the park,” Ogburn said. “They’ve installed a new roof over the picnic structure. The restroom facilities are being renovated with new plumbing fixtures and partitions and it is being repainted. The roof of the bathroom is in poor condition, and it will be replaced to match the picnic structure. We’ve ordered parts to repair the slide. And we’ll be moving the Coke machine behind the little stage in the park to get it off the bathroom wall.”
The council also approved a standard abbreviated form of agreement between the City of Asheboro and JDavis Architects, PC, and along with that, a $145,000 corresponding budget amendment for the City of Asheboro I73/I74 Corridor Place Making and Branding Project at the Pineview Street Interchange.
According to Ogburn, the branding will include things such as animal statues and other zoo-related iconography and
The Council approved a $12,960 professional design study for Bicentennial Park to be done by Freeman Kennett Architects, PLLC.
“If you went to the tribute band shows downtown, you saw 5,550 or 6,000 people, and you may have noticed that we finally had enough people down there to see that the stage looked backwards. And with the advent of the social district, it may be time to look into how we design or how we redesign Bicentennial Park,” Ogburn said.
Finally, the council approved a revised PTRC Agreement for Strategic Management Assistance for water line extension and wastewater services and a corresponding budget amendment of $18,750.
The City of Asheboro Council will next meet November 10.
