Discuss: Small Municipalities

The smaller towns in Forsyth County have their own comprehensive plans to implement their community visions.

How can the Legacy Update assist them in their efforts?

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Discuss: Corridor Development

Corridors with increased residential density and mixed-use development at key locations will function as future multi-modal transportation arterials. However, more intense residential and commercial development along Corridors may be incompatible with adjacent low-intensity development.

How do we identify appropriate locations for more intense development?

How do we make sure there is a density transition between significantly different densities?

Should Corridor Overlay Districts be created to produce the intended development pattern and compatibility?

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Discuss: Public Spaces

Usable and comfortable urban public open space such as plazas should be provided within mixed-use centers to serve as focal points and community gathering spots.

How can we ensure that public spaces are developed and that they are well designed?

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Discuss: Design of Mixed-Use Activity Centers

Mixed-use centers should be comprised of well-mixed and integrated developments with well-planned public spaces that bring people together and provide opportunities for active living and interaction. New development, including buildings, parking areas, streets and public spaces, need to be designed to be visually attractive, safe, and have an identity.

How do we ensure that new redevelopment is designed to provide a high-quality design and offer a unique character?

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Discuss: Rehabilitation and Adaptive Reuse

Some residential and non-residential buildings in Urban Neighborhoods need rehabilitation.

Do we need additional programs to ensure rehabilitation of residential, commercial and industrial buildings?

How can more adaptive reuse be encouraged?

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Discuss: Gentle Density

 Many areas of the country are using “gentle density” for increasing the number of housing units and providing affordable housing. Gentle density can include detached accessory units or urban residential products (duplex, triplex, quadraplex, townhouse units) in infill locations.

How can our community create gentle density?

Where is it appropriate?

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Discuss: Increasing Densities in Appropriate Locations

To make better use of our infrastructure, reduce traffic, provide a variety of housing types, reduce urban sprawl and minimize tax increases due to continued sprawl, residential densities need to increase in appropriate locations.

How do we change current negative perceptions of increased densities?

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Discuss: Preserving and Revitalizing Existing Neighborhoods

 Historic structures and areas not located in local historic districts do not have the same level of protection as those that are.

Do we need additional tools to ensure preservation of these historic resources?

Should Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Districts be revised?

The importance of both increasing the housing supply and expanding non-residential uses while also protecting neighborhood character and preserving historic resources should be recognized. How can we best assure this balance is reached?

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Summary: Neighborhoods and Small Towns

The majority of the projected 120,000 new residents will live in communities within the Urban and Suburban Neighborhoods. Forsyth County has a great opportunity to shape future growth in a way that will positively affect the quality of life for everyone - including families, children and the elderly.

To create the future we want means we have to change some of the ways we are currently developing. Existing structures and infrastructure should be preserved and enhanced. Mixed-use communities need to be built in place of suburban sprawl to preserve land resources and avert traffic congestion. Gentle density should be applied wherever feasible in urban and suburban areas. Neighborhoods that embrace a variety housing choices and well-designed nonresidential uses as an important and vital part of their community should be the new paradigm for future development and redevelopment.

Legacy Update: Walkertown

Walkertown was named for Dr. Robert Walker who was living in the vicinity of present-day Walkertown as early as 1771. The area became a center for Methodist settlements by the 1790s. Walkertown grew slowly after the Civil War, but by 1872, the Sullivan and Osburn tobacco factory began operation in Walkertown. The coming of the Roanoke and Southern Railroad in 1888 resulted in other factories and businesses being built bringing people into Walkertown in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The town of Walkertown was incorporated in 1984 with a population of 1,366. The town has grown to a population of 4900, but it retains a small town character. There is a predominance of low-density, single-family residential use, agricultural parcels and undeveloped land within the town limits. The surrounding area is still rural in character. Considerable growth has occurred lately around the intersection of US 158 and NC 66 which includes commercial and multifamily developments. In 2005, the community participated in the development of the Walkertown Area Plan to guide future development and growth in the area.

What principles of the 2001 Legacy Plan have been incorporated?

• Protecting historic resources: Rehabilitation of the Thomas A. Crews House and formation of the Walkertown Area Historical Society.
• Concentrating development at the proposed Activity Centers: Extensive new development at the Community Activity Center at US 158 and NC 66.
• Preserving the special character of small towns: Adopting Sidewalk, Tree and Sign Ordinances.
• Creating a more compact form of development around Village Centers: Construction of a new High School near the Town Center, continued use of library as a community center.

What Challenges Face the Community?

• Maintaining a Village Center with increasing growth and development going to US 158.
• Planning for quality and comprehensive development around Northern Beltway interchanges.
• Developing the proposed commercial areas in a compact pedestrian-friendly form.
• Revitalizing the historic Town Center.
• Preservation of rural character in the area north of Walkertown.
• Development of a greenway system.

Legacy Update: Tobaccoville

Tobaccoville was named for a plug chewing tobacco factory owned and operated in the 1870's by Charles Orrender. The Orrender Tobacco Factory was the principal landmark in the area, and the name "Tobaccoville" was suggested for the post office. This area was the mail route of a 4-horse stagecoach from Mt. Airy to Winston-Salem.

The Tobaccoville community's desire to maintain its identity, quality of life, and to preserve its heritage was the motivation for its incorporation in 1991. Help with the effort to oppose annexation plans by the Town of King and to incorporate was given by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which had recently built its newest and largest cigarette manufacturing facility in Tobaccoville.

In 2000, the Village Development Guidelines 2000-2020 were developed for the community by the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Assistance to manage residential and commercial growth while at the same time preserving open space. These guidelines were reviewed and adopted by the City-County Planning Board and the Forsyth County Commissioners.

What principles of the 2001 Legacy Plan have been incorporated?

• Managing growth for the preservation of open space and development of a livable community: Village Guidelines promote Open Space Design over Conventional Design of new subdivisions.
• Linking neighborhoods to other parts of the Village by roads and bike trails: Village guidelines promote a Road Network over Unconnected Roads.
• Preserving the special character of small towns: Village Guidelines promote designing new subdivisions with street trees, sidewalks and preserved common area for open space and recreational opportunities.
• Creating a more compact form of development around Village Centers and commercial areas: Village Guidelines promote Commercial Centers over Strip Development.
• Promoting the development of a Village atmosphere and a more compact form of development around Village Centers: Development of Village Hall and the Village Park in the Town Center.

What Challenges Face the Community?

• Managing residential and commercial growth while preserving open space.
• Connecting scattered subdivisions with roads or bike trails.
• Developing the proposed commercial centers in a compact pedestrian-friendly form.
• Creating neighborhood-scale commercial centers.

Legacy Update: Rural Hall

The community of Rural Hall originated in the late 1700s to early 1800s where the Mount Airy and North Wilkesboro railroads converged. By the late 1800s, a bustling trade and industrial center had developed. A small frame depot was built in 1888, stimulating new businesses and new construction. Along Broad Street, several two-story houses that were built by prominent families and a number of brick commercial buildings are still standing.

Rural Hall first provided municipal services in 1935 when it formed a sanitary district to provide water and sewer services. The Town of Rural Hall was incorporated in 1974 with a population of just over 1,000, and has grown to about 3,000 today. Rural Hall has primarily developed along two major thoroughfares, Broad Street (NC 66) and Bethania-Rural Hall Road (NC 65), which cross at the edge of the downtown area. Newer shopping areas can be found at NC 65 and US 52 in the southwest portion of Rural Hall. In 2010, the community participated in the development of the Rural Hall Area Plan to guide future development in this area of Forsyth County.

What principles of the 2001 Legacy Plan have been incorporated?

• Preserving and revitalizing the downtown area: downtown public improvements including sidewalks, crosswalks, decorative lighting and tree planting.
• Protecting historic resources: encouraging rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of larger homes in the downtown area.
• Encouraging different housing types: Latest developments include the Bitting Hall, Pine Ridge and Broad Meadows subdivisions and Summerwood Apartments.
• Preserving the special character of small towns: downtown preservation and revitalization efforts, decorative street lighting along Main Street and appearance initiatives.
• Creating a distinctive image to make the community unique and special: “Garden Spot of the World” appearance related projects: welcoming signs, bulb and flower plantings, Yard of the Month Awards, flower baskets at key intersection and Community Gardens.
• Creating more efficient, safe and convenient multimodal transportation system: Town of Rural Hall Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Plan.

What Challenges Face the Community?

• Further revitalization of the downtown area and attracting more commercial development.
• Revitalizing older shopping centers in a pedestrian-friendly manner.
• Minimizing land use and traffic conflicts between residential and non-residential development.
• Protecting the older neighborhoods and providing services to the elderly.
• Preserving farmland and open space.

Legacy Update: Lewisville

The Town of Lewisville was first settled in the 19th century when Moravians blazed a wagon trail across the pastures and established a community there. Lewisville was named after one of those settlers, Lewis Laugenour, a benefactor who donated lands for development in the central area of town. His home, constructed in the late 1850’s, still stands.

Lewisville officially incorporated in 1991 and today is one of the fastest growing communities in Forsyth County with almost 13,000 residents. One of the motivations in moving toward incorporation was to preserve the small town ambience that was threatened by unplanned development. Much attention and planning has gone into preserving the community’s pedestrian-friendly environment in the downtown, and community spirit is fostered through events and activities at the town’s Shallowford Square.

Since its incorporation, the Town of Lewisville has been updating its Comprehensive Plan every five years. The last effort, Town of Lewisville 2010 Comprehensive Plan, provides direction to the Town until its next update in 2015.

What principles of the 2001 Legacy Plan have been incorporated?

• Promoting orderly growth and development to create a more compact and balanced development pattern: Lewisville Comprehensive Plans.
• Preserving and revitalizing the downtown area: streetscape improvements, rehabilitation of buildings, construction of downtown sidewalks, new Town Hall.
• Adaptive Reuse: Lewisville Roller Mill.
• Preparing detailed small area studies to provide direction for development: Vienna Business District Small Area Plan.
• Protecting historic resources: Preservation of Nissen House and Roller Mill, numerous historic markers.
• Creating a distinctive image to make the community unique and special: Shallowford Square Park, Tree Ordinance work.

What Challenges Face the Community?

• Providing a variety of housing types to make the housing stock more available and affordable.
• Preservation of open space due to lack of sewer and requirement of a ½ acre minimum residential lot for septic tank.
• Failure of existing septic systems within the town.
• Maintaining rural character of land outside of Lewisville’s municipal boundaries.
• Developing greenways as a transportation and recreation alternative.
• Keeping the “small town character” of downtown Lewisville if traffic volumes increase on Shallowford Road.
• Spurring retail development in the downtown.
• Developing guidelines for future package treatment plants.

Legacy Update: Kernersville

First known as Kerners Crossroads in 1817, the town of Kernersville was incorporated after the arrival of the railroad in 1871. Kernersville’s location between Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point and proximity to the Piedmont Triad International Airport has stimulated growth in this municipality. Rural farmland surrounding the town has been developed for middle-to-upper-income housing, and numerous large shopping centers have been built in the town. The direct transportation links to the surrounding cities and airport has helped Kernersville maintain and expand its industrial, office, commercial and residential base. The central area of Kernersville contains several key assets for a vibrant community: the downtown area, historic districts, affordable single-family homes and rental housing. The Town of Kernersville completed a strategic Plan in 1997, Kernersville 2020, to guide future development. The Town has reviewed and updated its Development Plan to make sure it meets the demand of a growing community.


What principles of the 2001 Legacy Plan have been incorporated?

• Creating Plans and regulations to assists in maintaining the small town atmosphere: Kernersville Vision 2020, Kernersville Development Plan.
• Preserving the special character and historic resources of our towns: Kernersville Historic and Downtown Overlay District.
• Identifying housing issues and opportunities to promote continued investment to address blight and public nuisances: Central Kernersville Study.
• Revitalizing older neighborhoods: North Main Street Area Plan, Phase I
• Encouraging mixed-use developments: Caleb’s Creek and Carrollton Metro Activity Center.
• Preparing detailed small area studies to provide direction for development: Various studies and plans.
• Implementing zoning overlay districts to transform highway strips and developments into unique places with high quality design: Creation of five Overlay Districts.
• Creating a bikeway/sidewalk/greenway network: Kernersville Pedestrian and Bike Plan.
• Making the community more livable: Kernersville Wayfinding Plan, Central Kernersville Study.

What Challenges Face the Community?

• Transitioning from a small town setting to an urban city with increasing limitations for expansion.
• Revitalizing existing developed areas and rehabilitating older neighborhoods to provide affordable housing and attract new investment.
• Enhancing Kernersville’s small town atmosphere through a vibrant downtown and “sense of place”.
• Providing a strong sidewalk network and developing a greenway network.
• Building on Kernersville’s unique identity to attract high quality development.
• Coordinating with the Heart of the Triad regional plan on Land Use and Transportation issues.
• Sustaining a strong commercial and industrial base.
• Maintaining a Transportation Capital Improvement Plan that establishes the expenditure amount of tax dollars for specific road improvement projects.

Legacy Update: Clemmons

Clemmons was founded in 1802 by Peter Clemmons who moved to the area from Delaware. One of his descendants, Edwin T. Clemmons, was a stage and mail contractor who owned several stage lines based in Salem providing service to Clemmons, High Point, Raleigh, Asheville and Wytheville, VA. After the coming of the railroad in the 1870s, Edwin moved his stagecoach business to Asheville. He eventually returned to Forsyth County and gave money for the construction of the Clemmons Moravian Church and a school.

The Village of Clemmons was incorporated as a municipality in December of 1986. Today, the Village of Clemmons is a thriving community and a desirable place to live and work. The proximity of Clemmons to Winston-Salem via Interstate 40 has contributed to the rapid growth of the Village. As the Village has developed, the built environment changed from a smaller, village-scale community to a municipality with more auto-oriented developments.

Currently, there is a strong desire in the Village to redevelop in a way that reflects the historic community character. In 2010, Clemmons Community Compass, The 2030 Comprehensive Plan, was adopted by the Clemmons Village Council to guide the municipality’s future growth.

 

What principles of the 2001 Legacy Plan have been incorporated?

• Encouraging mixed-use and pedestrian-friendly developments: Village Point Small Area Plan, Community Compass Plan.
• Encouraging different housing types and “village-scale” town centers: Village Point Small Area Plan, Community Compass Plan.
• Creating more efficient, safe and convenient multimodal transportation system: Village Transportation Plan, Community Compass Plan.
• Making the community more livable: Tree Ordinance, Sign Ordinance and proposed study of and improvements to Lewisville-Clemmons Road.
• Connect streets to have a better system of roads: Community Compass Plan and Village Transportation Plan.

 

What Challenges Face the Community?

• Assuring that the appearance of existing and new buildings, development patterns and streetscapes contribute to the feel and desired identity for the Village.
• Developing design strategies and securing funding for improvements to Lewisville-Clemmons Road.
• Establishing a civic-focused Village Center at the Village Point/Novant Health development area.
• Adding more recreational opportunities.
• Implementing the Village Transportation Plan and developing a multimodal transportation system.
• Developing a 10-year Capital Improvement Program.
• Ensuring a stable Village economy that provides new public services and amenities at a reasonable cost.
• Making sure there is regional coordination and cooperation for land use decisions and utilities provision along the Village edges.
• Updating the Unified Development Ordinance to reflect goals from the Community Compass Plan.

Legacy Update: Bethania

Founded on June 12, 1759 by the Moravian Brethren of Wachovia, Bethania is the oldest municipality in Forsyth County. The first planned Moravian settlement in North Carolina, Bethania is one of the few examples in the United States of a German “medieval” plan farming village. The town was laid out in this German agricultural pattern by the surveyor Christian Gottlieb Reuter. The Moravian Church owned the land. The families that lived in the farming village were each assigned equal bottom-land strip fields and upland orchard lots. Families lived on the 24 town lots that flanked a main street running north and south of a central square. The 500-acre Bethania National Historic Landmark District is the largest National Landmark in Forsyth County. Bethania and its 18th and 19th century properties are listed on the National and North Carolina State Historic Registers of Places.Bethania was re-incorporated in 1995. Today, the original village design remains visible and intact, and most town lots and roadways have remained in continuous use since 1759. Many of the historic Moravian-influenced buildings of Bethania still exist.

In 2001, the Comprehensive Transportation and Land Use Study was completed for the Town of Bethania. The North Suburban Area Plan, which includes the Town of Bethania, recommends this study be used to guide land use decisions.

What principles of the 2001 Legacy Plan have been incorporated in Bethania?

• Preserving the special character of small towns: Bethania National Historic Landmark District.
• Protecting historic resources: Rehabilitation of the Wolff-Moser house and Alpha Chapel and creation of draft Historic Overlay guidelines.
• Adaptive Reuse: Conversion of an old seed mill into the Bethania Mill and Village Shoppes, the only shopping area within the city limits.
• Preservation and enhancement of our environmental resources: Open and forested lands surrounding the residential area of Bethania (much of this land is protected by the Piedmont Land Conservancy).
• Environmental awareness: Black Walnut Bottoms Loop Trail.
• Creating corridors for recreational opportunities, environmental protection, and enjoyment of nature: Black Walnut Bottoms Loop Trail land protected through easements.

What Challenges Face the Community?

• Continuing the rehabilitation and preservation of existing structures, adoption of a Historic Overlay district to assure that preservation continues.
• Continuing the preservation of natural resources surrounding the town.
• Minimizing encroachment of residential and non-residential development.
• Finding an alternative road to reroute the heavy traffic on Main Street.

Activity Centers and Corridors

The Growth Management Plan of the Legacy Update uses the concept of Activity Centers and Growth Corridors to concentrate more intense, mixed-use development in designated areas and increased density along select corridors. By concentrating these uses in designated areas, a number of goals can be achieved: increasing residential density levels where infrastructure already exist, thereby reducing suburban sprawl; providing services and shopping convenient to neighborhoods without encroaching into the interior of neighborhoods; creating residential density that can support transit corridors; and providing a housing option for those citizens who don’t have vehicles- including the elderly- or who don’t choose to have vehicles. Creating true mixed-use Activity Centers can help absorb a lot of the new population Forsyth County will be experiencing.

Activity Centers

Activity Centers are mixed-use areas developed in a more urban, compact, pedestrian-friendly manner. Most Activity Centers shown on the Legacy Update Growth Management Plan already exist as areas of activity that include commercial development. Some Activity Centers, such as the urban East Winston and West Salem Activity Centers, as well as the suburban Walkertown/US 158 Activity Center, are already mixed-use developments, but need to be retrofitted in terms of walkability, design, or connectivity. Retrofitting and redevelopment will be necessary to accommodate an urban form and to establish connections to surrounding neighborhoods.

Other Activity Centers, such as the urban Waughtown Street/High Point Road Activity Center and the suburban I-40/Union Cross Road Activity Center, need well-designed higher-density residential developed within or adjacent to them. As more people live in or near Activity Centers, more reduction can be realized in terms of both automobile trips and traffic congestion. Through the Area Plan program, appropriate sites have been designated for moderate or high density near Activity Centers. The Town Centers of Forsyth County’s smaller municipalities are also considered Activity Centers. It is important that a healthy mixture of uses continues to be focused in small towns, particularly in or near their Town Centers.

Good mixed-use design for Activity Center development (or redevelopment) ensures attractive, usable, durable and adaptable places. Mixed-use developments need to be compatible with adjacent land uses, provide a diversity of housing types, contribute to the character of the neighborhood and larger community, and create vibrant, pedestrian-oriented places.

Special attention needs to be given to producing an acceptable mix of land uses, designing parking areas for walkability, providing circulation patterns for vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle access, and providing public amenities including plazas and open space. Energy-efficient, sustainable development should be highly encouraged in Activity Centers.

One good local example of redevelopment of an older shopping areas to a more urban form is Thruway Shopping Center. New shops were added along Stratford Road in what was the parking lot. The new construction created a “courtyard effect” internally, and the new buildings give a more pleasing view from Stratford Road than the previous surface parking lot.

Corridors

In addition to Activity Centers, the Growth Management Plan in Chapter 3 discusses the concept of Primary Corridors and Secondary Corridors. Primary Corridors link Downtown Winston-Salem with Activity Centers and are generally located along major arterial roads. Secondary Corridors are major roadways or portions of roadways which link Activity Centers in Suburban Neighborhoods and in some cases link smaller municipalities to one another.

The older automobile-oriented strip commercial areas found along main corridors such as Peters Creek Parkway, University Parkway, Liberty Street or Stratford Road have experienced decline as retail uses relocated to newer centers further out. However, these declining strips present an opportunity for increased residential density and mixed-use development. This increased density along Primary Corridors is critical in establishing a well-used public transit system and accommodating more residents, including seniors and those citizens needing affordable housing. Primary Corridors are intended to function as the main future multi-modal transportation arterials in Forsyth County, and most Activity Centers are located along these corridors.

Secondary Corridors will be identified in the Area Plan process. Select locations along these corridors could have higher-density housing and may become transit corridors.

Suburban Neighborhood Issue: Aging Shopping Centers

Older shopping center with vacant storefronts


A trend in some older suburban areas is the decline of older suburban shopping centers. Like some inner-city commercial areas, many of these centers were built before some of the appearance-related requirements were put in place. Large parking areas are void of any plantings, facades have become outdated and there is no screening for utilities or for homes that are near these shopping centers. Newer, better designed shopping centers with more amenities have caused vacancy in some of these older centers. A new term, “greyfields”, is being applied to abandoned centers. In some cities, old shopping centers are being converted to other uses, such as large-scale churches or schools. In Winston-Salem, an older big box store on University Parkway was converted into a new movie theater.

Like in the Urban Neighborhoods, older shopping centers and strip malls can be revitalized and retrofitted into compact, mixed-use centers. Defining the appropriate scale and intensity that fits in with the surrounding development is very important.

Suburban Neighborhood Issue: Design of New Neighborhoods

New subdivisions should be built in a more sustainable manner. Developments that are only residential should be interconnected to other residential developments, have sidewalks (now required on one side of the street), have bike lanes along connector streets, and active recreation space. The Area Plan program has identified sites for higher densities in the Suburban Neighborhoods to provide diverse types of housing and better use existing infrastructure. Sites recommended for higher densities are typically along major roads, have access to current or future transit and are located near existing or future commercial areas. As with the Urban Neighborhoods, proposed higher-density developments are often opposed by residents of nearby single-family areas.

Preferable to developments with only single uses in the Suburban Neighborhoods are mixed-use developments. Mixed-use development is recommended at Activity Centers which are shown in the Growth Management Plan on page 95. Activity Centers are areas of more intense land uses where more concentrated development is proposed including commercial, office and moderate to high-density multifamily development. This concept is discussed in more detail below.

Activity Centers are a good way to increase housing densities in appropriate locations within Suburban Neighborhoods and reduce further suburban sprawl.

Suburban Neighborhood Issue: More Livable and Sustainable

Transforming subdivisions into a more sustainable development pattern is difficult since they were not designed or built for flexibility or change. Some options for adapting existing subdivisions include: creating a network of connecting streets; adding open space, parks and greenways; constructing sidewalks; retrofitting wide roads with bike lanes; and assuring that needed services are located nearby. These changes will allow residents to use multiple modes of transportation and not just rely exclusively on the automobile. One additional way of creating better connectivity for bicycles and pedestrians in suburban areas is to continue to build a system of greenways which link both existing and new subdivision development to one another.