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CLEMMONS — After being denied in 2022 by the Clemmons Village Council, a proposed residential development on Harper Road received unanimous approval in Monday night’s meeting.

The first rezoning request came after months of changes and continuances before being struck down in August 2022 prior to coming back before the council in November 2023 with several changes from the previous request — and no one there to protest after residents from nearby Waterford had been vocal in their opposition to the original proposal — expressing concerns about the impact on the existing infrastructure, including traffic, safety and accessibility.

The preliminary major subdivision review was for the Jasper Meadows Subdivision by Arden Group, LLC located on 26.76 acres and zoned RS-20 to include 31 lots at 0 Harper Road, located east of Michelle Drive and north of Lismore Street and Dunmore Court (Zoning Docket C-23-002).

The approval by the council for the most recent rezoning request for the zoning map amendment for PMA I Holdings for property owned by Jasper L. Harper Sr. and Jasper L. Harper Jr. from RS-30 (Residential Single Family, 30,000-square-foot lot size) to RS-20 (Residential Single Family, 20,000-square-foot lot size) for the Harper Road property came after a public hearing on Nov. 13, 2023.

Village Manager Mike Gunnell said at the time that the difference with this request, which was already unanimously approved by the planning board and staff, was that it is more of a residential subdivision whereas before it was a planned residential development with smaller lots.

“This time its larger lots and more consistent with the surrounding lots, like what’s in Waterford,” he said.

Planner Doug Moore was the only one to speak in Monday night’s meeting with an overall review of the project, including a greenway that is planned for that area.

“With Blanket Bottom Creek, there’s a future greenway that’s proposed there,” Moore said. “What we did was essentially work with the developer to get him to dedicate a 40-foot easement, which is consistent to what they do in Winston-Salem, for the future expansion when that trail comes through. That provides an alternative transportation through the trail system sometime down the road.”

Later in the meeting, Moore said that the village is getting closer to the completion of the pedestrian plan, stating that the steering committee will review the final draft and make any changes before possible adoption at the first council meeting in February.

Moore then provided positive news on grants, revealing that the village will be receiving $160,000, requiring a 20 percent local match, through the federal highway department for the Safe Streets action plan.

“Then last week I got a phone call, and they were encouraging us to apply for the 2024 grant cycle, which opens up next month to try to do a demonstration project, which we had talked about applying for last year,” Moore said. “And they’re actually encouraging us to apply for more than $200,000 on that and actually were helping provide ideas on what we could apply for.”

Mayor Mike Rogers offered his congratulations and said he appreciated the hard work of Moore and council member Bradley Taylor, who has been very involved with the pedestrian plan, “and seeking out the grants that we definitely need in order to pursue our pedestrian infrastructure.”

In other highlights from Monday night’s meeting, the council:

• Approved Zoning Docket C-256 after a public hearing on a zoning map amendment for Eric W. Morrison, P.A., Architecture for property owned by Elliott International, LLC from RS-9 (Residential Single Family) and GB-S (General Business – Special) to GB-S (General Business – Special) for property at 6645 Holder Road, located on the northern side of Holder Road just east Lewisville-Clemmons Road.
  • Planner Moore said that this primarily involved combining three lots into one lot and changing the zoning to be consistent and “cleaning things up” with a new parking lot with more spaces to provide more safety and convenience for the employees.
• Approved a budget amendment for the reallocation of funds from the U.S. 158 sidewalk grant project to the EB 6040 Harper Road sidewalk project from Harper Road/I-40 to Morgan Elementary School.
• Approved a new planning and community development fee schedule, including zoning fees, sign permit fees, subdivision fees, community garden fees and farmers market fees.
• Announced that instead of the usual regular council meeting on the fourth Monday of the month, there will be a special meeting (retreat) on Monday, Jan. 22, and Tuesday, Jan. 23, at the Winston-Salem Foundation.