Plans for a proposed townhouse development on Highway 301 South in Smithfield were rejected by the Smithfield Town Council. The council voted unanimously Jan. 7th to deny a rezoning request by Brightleaf Development Partners, LLC to construct 17 townhomes on Highway 301 South (Brightleaf Boulevard) just south of Galilee Road.
The company had proposed tearing down two houses on adjacent parcels totaling 1.72 acres and constructing Oakfield Towns. The proposed development included 17 attached single-family residential townhomes. Plans called for each townhome being 1,224 square feet in size on 0.03 acres, with the remainder of the land in common ownership containing a parking lot, stormwater management pond, dumpster facility, clustered mailboxes, sidewalks and landscaping. Each lot would have a small patio in the rear and a covered entrance. Each unit was proposed to be two-stories and 32 feet in height.
The ground floor of each unit included a kitchen, half bath, dining/family room and a bedroom/study with bedrooms and bathrooms on the second story. The application said each townhome would be stick built with brick cladding, a siding material, and asphalt shingles.
Councilman David Barbour said he was concerned about the impact on traffic. Councilman Travis Scott added that he was concerned the request was spot zoning.
Fellow board members agreed and the council voted unanimously to deny the rezoning.
Brightleaf Development Partners had also requested a special use permit for the townhomes and satellite annexation of the land. Those items were removed from the council agenda after the rezoning request was turned down.
