GREENSBORO, N.C. — Signs that read, 'No Rezoning' line the yards near Cleburne and Cone Boulevard on the northside of Greensboro, in opposition to the rezoning request filed by Koury Corporation.
Koury Corporation President and property owner Richard Vanore said the concept plans suggest under 531 units for the property. He said they're working to reduce that number if possible as they continue to work to address some of the concerns of the homeowners in the area.
Vanore said they conducted a traffic study, which showed an impact on the area of Cone Boulevard. Vanore said the entry and exit points to the apartments would only be on Cone.
Neighbors are still concerned it could impact the other areas in their neighborhood.
Becky Petersen, Wendy Heise, Doug Stone and Catherine Egerton all live near the property up for rezoning.
"The traffic issue is changed dramatically," said Stone.
"It's just going to get worse," said Heise.
"That section of Cone, the accidents at that intersection are amazing," said Egerton.
Becky Petersen lives near the property line of the rezoning request. She moved in a few months ago and said she chose the neighborhood because it's peaceful.
"That does bring up a lot of concerns certainly with the number of people living there with traffic," said Petersen.
"If you put 530 people there, you're going to have enormous buildings," said Stone, "It's completely out of character."
The homeowners said they would much rather see single-family homes than apartments proposed for the property.
"It's their right to develop this property, they own it, but it's inconsistent with the neighborhood, it's inconsistent with the city vision," said Heise.
The property is in Greensboro City Councilman Justin Outling's district. He said he's had a number of his constituents reach out to him with their concerns regarding the rezoning.
"Some of the concerns are around traffic, the degree to which any additional homes may result in traffic being funneled into existing neighborhoods where there are sections that the infrastructure cant accommodate additional traffic," he said, "Questions about the height of buildings, questions about not wanting things to change."
Outling said the project is likely to change because of the many concerns that have surfaced in the community.
"The key through this process is to find a way to grow consistent with our vision for the city, consistent with infrastructure capabilities and consistent with surrounding neighborhoods and all the wonderful things that we have in our community," he said.
Outling said this process could give homeowners and the property owner the opportunity to work together and come up with a great project everyone can agree on that still benefits the area.
The property owner said they're working with the homeowners on addressing the concerns.
The attorney for the property owner said they're planning to continue that conversation with neighbors next week.