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The Lake at Belmont begins review process

By Jim Buice
For the Clemmons Courier

Village Manager Scott Buffkin recalled a recent conversation with a commercial real estate person about the state of the local market, particularly in light of the continuing coronavirus pandemic.

“The quote I got back was ‘interest in Clemmons has not slowed down,’ ” Buffkin said. “Everybody wants to be in Clemmons.”

That certainly seems to be the case, and two more major projects — in different stages — are part of the potential pipeline.

The newest on the docket is The Lake at Belmont, where representatives for the project recently submitted plans to go through the review process, according to Clemmons planner Nasser Rahimzadeh, for a possible multifamily development on Lewisville-Clemmons Road north of I-40.

The preliminary site plan shows 360 units on 38.58 acres on the property that has a gated entrance with a proposed rezoning to RM-12 (Multifamily) from RS-40 (Residential Single Family) and proposed annexation to the Village of Clemmons as most of the property is in the jurisdiction of Forsyth County.

The breakdown of apartments details 140 one-bedroom units, 184 two-bedroom units and 36 three-bedroom units on the horse farm with plans for the existing lake to remain. The privately-gated property currently also includes a barn and a house.

Rahimizadeh noted that the project is scheduled to come to the Technical Review Committee this month, where whatever recommendations could be made to the petitioner, before going to the Clemmons Planning Board and then the Village Council.

Another significant project — the Old Mill project by Isenhour Homes with single-family homes and twin homes just to the east of Hampton Road — is much farther down the road with the possibility of a public hearing for Zoning Docket C-235 to be included on the agenda for next Monday night’s village council meeting.

The site plan calls for 69 single-family residential lots on 31.25 acres for Tract 1 and 42 twin homes on 10.44 acres for Tract 2.

During the planning board meeting in May, the petitioner requested amending the zoning map from RS-15 (Residential Single Family) to RS-9 (Residential Single Family) for Tract 1; and from RS-9 (Residential Single Family and RS-15 (Residential Single Family) to RM-5-S (Residential Multifamily-Special Use) for Tract 2.

In minutes from that meeting, proponents were on the record as saying the proposed development is a good use for the property with the mixed-use residential zoning utilizing single-family homes and twin homes being suitable for all age groups.

Opponents commented that the proposed development is too dense for the older neighborhood surrounding the property and stated concerns about traffic and the supporting roads being inadequate to support the increase in volume.

The planning board voted to deny the rezoning request as presented and approved the preliminary site plan as presented to include additional conditions, setting the stage for the petitioner to make specified changes before bringing the item before the village council.