Mobile home park expansion stirs debate

Janet Imrick
Randolph Hub

Asheboro Mayor Pro Tem Walker Moffitt is making moves to expand the Richland Village mobile home park. This was among the planning-related items discussed at the city council's Oct. 10 meeting.

Zoning Votes

Moffitt was recused since the request involved his land at the western terminus of Ferrari Drive.

The undeveloped 61 acres next to Richland Village is zoned for R40 Low-Density. Assistant City Manager Trevor Nuttall said Moffitt asked the planning board to rezone it to R40 (CZ) Low-Density Conditional so he can build 21 more mobile home spaces.

Taro Fenberg, who lives across the creek from Richland Village, spoke during the public hearing and asked to delay or deny the request. He said people routinely trespass on his family’s land to get to the creek.

He suggested a fence be added between the properties. He said, "All I would hope for and ask, since we're bracing for a massive increase, approximately, in the population of the valley, I would ask that something would be done."

Moffitt said he would agree to a condition to add a fence. Fenberg asked if that could be extended to the recreational area, but council member Clark Bell explained that they can only enforce fencing along the lot brought before them at the meeting.

Council member Joseph Trogdon, Jr. said he was against the rezoning because of the past number of calls for police to Richland Village. Given that Ferrari Drive lies outside the city’s main limits, he argued that it draws police resources at too much of a cost.

Other council members said they did know of any instances when police resources became strained. They compared the drive to North Asheboro and the Tot Hill division. 

Council member Eddie Burks said, "It's not out of town. It is in town. It's in the city limits. As we look 10 years down the road, probably less than that, as the mayor said, this area is going to develop. It's going to be continuous at some point."

Trogdon said, "I'm talking about the immediate need and the immediate year. You're asking me to vote on this one piece of property now. And right now, it's costing us."

Realtor H.R. Gallimore spoke on Moffitt’s behalf. He said none of the police calls were about drugs or felonies. He argued the park has stringent rules that make it a safe place. 

The city council approved the rezoning request with Trogdon dissenting.

Another rezoning request for 223 Brewer Street was approved without objection. The owner, Aranza Gallegos, asked for it to match the neighboring properties and make it R7.5 Medium-Density Residential.

Future of Downtown planning

— Downtown Asheboro, Inc. (DAI) asked the city council to allocate $20,000 for building owners. Downtown Development Manager Addie Corder said that since downtown was added to the historic registry in 2022, owners can get a consultant who will help them with paperwork so they can be eligible for tax credits. The funding would be capped at $5,000 per property. The city council approved the request.

— Nuttall led a discussion on the Center City Planning Area’s three-tiered height regulations. At the September meeting, Baybuilt Properties narrowly got approval to rezone 801 and 817 Sunset Avenue to build an apartment building with fewer parking spaces than required. The council acknowledged that Baybuilt was limited by Tier 3 lower height requirements, and so they asked city staff to review whether the downtown overlay might discourage infill development.

Tier 1, the area of downtown, allows for buildings up to 65 feet high. Moving outward, Tier 2 sets a 45-foot limit, and Tier 3 sets a 35-foot limit. Developers may ask for modifications via conditional zoning or a variance. Nuttall recommended they take no action yet but monitor future applications.

— City council approved the agreement for a gap financing loan to the Memorial Square Housing Development near Memorial Park. The $650,000 was approved in August for Wynnefield Forward, LLC to try and help them complete a 48-unit housing complex.

— Nuttall gave an update on applications to fill the planning board seat of Ritchie Buffkin, whose term expires on Jan. 1. Council members agreed to send those applications to the planning board. Randolph County Board of Commissioners will appoint the successor for David Henderson, whose tenure as extra-territorial jurisdiction representative also ends on Jan. 1.

— As the meeting concluded, council member Kelly Heath suggested the council put homeless-related issues back on the agenda as a standing item. She pointed out that safety concerns about people sleeping downtown have been coming up during public comment periods.