GREENSBORO, N.C. — Chances are you've seen signs that say "preserve our neighborhood" along West Friendly Avenue in Greensboro.
Neighbors in the area want to work with the City of Greensboro to set zoning standards through a Neighborhood Conservation Overlay.
Andy Close, a resident in the area, said the idea to add an NCO started last year when a Greensboro City Council member suggested neighbors consider it after winning a battle with a developer who wanted to bring more than 20 townhomes to West Friendly Avenue.
This week residents got a step closer to securing an overlay district.
Andrew Aronson, a long-time resident in the area, said large trees and homes that sit back off the street are how those living in the West Friendly Avenue area want to keep it.
"We want to keep the character of our neighborhood, Aronson said. "Redevelop those areas that have nothing going on."
Aronson and others who live in the area are working to put a NCO in place to protect the original look of their community.
If Greensboro City Council approves it'll be a guideline that new developers must follow that preserves the neighborhood's current landscape.
They said current residents won't be impacted but if they ever choose to rebuild they will have to follow the set rules.
"If you look at the houses we have here many of them sit back 50, 60 to 100 feet back. The regular LDO we have would say you could build 35 feet from the street but the homes are way further back than that," Close said. " So to keep the look you'll have to give up some of the land and keep the trees there."
Close said 85 % of those living in the Friendly area signed a petition in favor of the NCO.
They said the NCO is not a Homeowners Association but only adds a layer to the current land development ordinance.
The neighborhood began working on this with the city's planning department last year.
The draft plan went before the planning and zoning commission this week and now only needs city council approval.
"We don't want high-density building where people are overlooking your back yard and looking into your windows because there's a 15-foot difference between their house and yours," Aronson expressed.
They want to maintain the land's original character along Friendly from Holden Road to Westridge.
Both Aronson and Close said they are not against development and welcome it as long as it fits the current landscape.
Council will vote on the matter next month.