By Scott Jenkins

Salisbury Post

Salisbury City Council approved a revised site plan Tuesday that promises wider lots and less-conspicuous garages for the Drummond Village subdivision off Stokes Ferry and Earnhardt roads.

It was one of the adjustments Drummond Village developers and builders made to their plans after meeting this month with Mayor Pro Tem Paul Woodson and Councilman Mark Lewis.

“We call them concessions and compromises,” Lewis said. “In reality, it’s just what’s best for Salisbury.”

The council raised concerns at its Dec. 5 meeting about the site plans, particularly the proposed width of some lots.

Developer Eric Wood won approval four years ago for a mixed-use development that included single-family homes, apartments, townhouses and commercial development along a planned extension of Jake Alexander Boulevard from Stokes Ferry to Earnhardt roads.

But after it became clear the Jake Alexander Boulevard extension could be decades in the future, Wood returned to the city this fall with revised plans that eliminated most of the commercial development and all the multi-family homes in favor of a single-family subdivision of about 400 homes.

At the developer’s request, the council rezoned approximately 15 acres in the interior of Drummond Village from business-retail trade to residential, leaving about 4 acres zoned business-retail near Earnhardt Road’s intersection with a future Jake Alexander extension.

The Salisbury Planning Board approved a single-family homes site plan for the subdivision after Wood eliminated 41-foot-wide lots and said no lot would be narrower than 45 feet. But council members still felt that was “a lot of asphalt, a little grass,” Lewis said.

After further talks, the developer agreed that no lot would be less than 50 feet in width and lots at the corners would be at least 60-feet wide. All homes will be set back at least 20 feet from the right of way.

The newly revised plan also stipulates that garages will project out no more than 8 feet past the front door or porch, and the builder, CP Morgan, has proposed using garage doors that match the color of the homes to make them even less noticeable.

To avoid a cookie-cutter subdivision, the builder will add at least three unique architectural features to the front of each home, to be chosen from a list of features, including decorative door and window elements, garage door windows and carriage lights.

Developers will plant at least one shade tree per lot within 4 feet of the street right of way and install traditional lighting fixtures.

Drummond Village will also set aside open space, including a 2-acre park with playground equipment, two “scenic overlooks” along the adjacent Corbin Hills Golf Course and a meandering natural trail connecting the open space areas and a sidewalk system.

A portion of the land surrounded by the golf course with no road access will be retained by the developer and labeled on the site plan as not part of the Drummond Village subdivision.

Council members said the site plan is a lot closer to the city’s vision for its future than it was a few weeks ago.

“We’re still a little disappointed this is not the original Drummond Village, but we think this is a compromise we can live with,” Woodson said.

In other business, the council:

* Recognized retiring Deputy Police Chief Bobby Harrison and retiring Reserve Police Officer Marvin Jones and authorized issuing their badges and sidearms to them.

* Approved site plans for Tilley Harley-Davidson at 653 Bendix Drive and The Villas at Crescent, a planned community of 33 condominiums within the Crescent development off Jake Alexander.

* Approved the re-adoption of a Resolution of Consideration for Annexation. The council adopts the resolution annually to cover areas outside the city that potentially qualify for annexation. It allows council to start the annexation process more quickly if it moves to annex any particular area.

* Approved closing an alley in the 800 block of West Henderson Street after a public hearing at which one person spoke in favor of the request.

* Approved a budget amendment for $2,000 to reflect donations received from the J.F. Hurley Jr. Foundation for renovation of the Hurley Park main entry garden.

* Approved a budget amendment of $18,130 to appropriate insurance proceeds toward construction of a metal storage building at the old landfill.

* Adopted a resolution signifying the economic importance of the N.C. Transportation Museum in Spencer. The museum has been gathering various resolutions to support a $26 million request to the General Assembly.

Contact Scott Jenkins at 704-797-4248 or sjenkins@salisburypost.com.