Consensus: Stand strong against commercial rezoning at the SW corner of Friendly and Holden

Dr. Luke Johnson is now proposing the same classification of commercial zoning for the single-family-residential lot at the corner of Friendly and Holden Aves., but has redrawn his proposed building plans. They include a 12,000 square foot 2-story office building at the corner where the house currently sits. [[Think 50 feet tall.] The "2nd phase" of proposed construction would be/might be condos running along Holden. That phase is a sketchy rendering. Once the rezoning to commercial is in place--there is always the possibility that the landowner will request approval of different plans/uses for the property. More details available at NoRezoning.org

The 66 attendees of the No Rezoning meeting on Sunday afternoon unanimously agreed not to compromise in the fight to prevent commercial incursion onto the south side of Friendly.

Pricey Harrison, our state house rep attended the meeting and briefly voiced her support. Jon Hardister, who is opposing Harrison in the fall, has sent out a letter of support to those fighting this commercial rezoning.

Valerie Stern, who headed up the last battle against commercial rezoning within our residential neighborhood at the corner of Green Valley and Friendly, urged our group to stand strong--"you can win this."

Long-time Greensboro Mayor Keith Holliday stood up from the audience and warned that approval of this commercial rezoning would "not be the end of something, but the beginning." Make no mistake, many eyes in this town are trained on what happens at this corner, he said. [He meant, many eyes in the commercial development community.]

There are more No Rezoning signs available for $10 each. We are hoping to see even more neighbors with signs up as the Sep 13 Zoning Commission meeting approaches. And please write to Zoning Commission members and Town Council members. Note: there are 3 new zoning commission members that need to hear from you. Please visit NoRezoning.org for the updated list & contact info.

If you live on Madison, Homewood, Wedgewood, Dogwood, Kirby, Mistletoe, Edgewater, the Avondales, etc. -- please consider posting a sign to show solidarity. We will all be affected--quality of life, traffic and safety, property values and comparables.