'Gamechanger': Greensboro City Council approves annexation for new development
Mar 19, 2025
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) -- A new development is being planned in Greensboro after a recent annexation approval by the city council.
“This is something that will be a game changer for Greensboro,” Greensboro Mayor Pro-Tem Marikay Abuzuaiter said.
She is talking about a development known a
s Christopher Villages. It’s about 80 acres just north of Lake Higgins along Carlson Dairy Road.
The Greensboro City Council unanimously approved the annexation of that property on Tuesday night. It’s just one of six annexations already approved this year, and there are more requests coming in.
But there is a lot of work from city staff to determine if the property should be added before it even goes to the city council.
It starts with the annexation request then the city planning department gets in touch with the city services, including police, fire, solid waste and water and sewer. The big question they ask is, "Can you provide equal services to this property?"
“We are very, very busy,” Greensboro Zoning Administrator Mike Kirkman said.
Greensboro city planning staff members have seen an increase over the last five years in annexations. The peak in 2022 was 37 properties, totaling more than 1500 acres.
“Ultimately, it does benefit everybody because you are spreading out the tax burden across a larger tax base, and you are potentially creating additional services," Kirkman said.
The City of Greensboro does not seek out additional property. They simply sort through the requests.
“We have certain areas that people kind of check in with us every few years," Kirkman said.
Over at the Greensboro Fire Department, they have their own internal planning department.
The goal is to accomplish their “standard of cover."
That means for the City of Greensboro, one firetruck has to get there within four minutes of travel and 17 firefighters have to arrive within eight minutes of travel.
“We want sustainable growth, and we certainly want to be able to provide the same level of service across the board,” Greensboro Fire Chief Jim Robinson said.
They crunch the numbers for each annexation request. The final results for the property now in north Greensboro at Carlson Dairy Road show 20 firefighters would be available in less than eight minutes based on the location of the current stations.
“Obviously, we will go to these county stations and talk about responding with us,” Robinson said.
City services can contract out to work or add new services to cover potential growth. Greensboro has purchased several lots around town to build new fire stations once there is money to make it happen.
“It all takes time ... We want to start early, but those indicators are there,” Robinson said.
Once an annexation is approved by the council, there is more work at city hall for the planning department to figure out how to get services like water and sewer to the site.
The most recent property approved by the GCC is known as Christopher Village. The developer, David Couch, will have to send the city his full development proposal, and then there needs to be some more research before the city signs off on construction.
Couch said in a statement to FOX8:
I purchased this land years ago, and I always wanted to use it in a way that protects not destroys the beauty and openness that drew me to it in the first place. This design accomplished that, and I truly believe it can be a model for the state and the country. It was refreshing ... to hear the same sentiment from the planning commission and the city council.
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