SMITHFIELD – Seventy new townhomes will be constructed in West Smithfield after developers received approval from the Smithfield Town Council. At their October 5 meeting the council approved Whitley Townes which will be built on W. Market Street (US 70) just west of Wilson’s Mills Road.
J&J Flowers Finch of Clayton received approval for a conditional rezoning request for a total of 11.61 acres of land for the Whitley Townes development.
According to preliminary plans, 58 percent of the site will be developed. The remainder will be used as a vegetative buffer, stormwater management and existing wetlands and ditches.
No one spoke in opposition of the development during a public hearing. In a unanimous vote, the council approved the rezoning.
The council also approved four variances from their Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) including a reduction in street width from 34 to 30 foot in some locations, the distance between buildings from 30 plus foot to a minimum to 20 foot, and deviating the minimum perimeter buffer from 40 foot to 25 foot.
What is the point in having the Unified Development Ordinance if variances are approved? To my understanding, the UDO requirements are the minimum. The approved variances reduce the minimum requirements. Two other new property developments, one across from Amazon and the other on Hwy 210 close to Market St, were also allowed variances. Here is a link to the UDO for Smithfield, NC.
http://www.smithfield-nc.com/page/open/1668/0/UDO%20March%202021.pdf