GRANITE QUARRY — A 31-lot subdivision of single-family homes won approval from the Granite Quarry Board of Aldermen on Monday night.

Stoneglen will be off Byrd Road (Peeler Street) and cover 12.44 acres. Aldermen had to approve a rezoning of the parcel from residential low-density (RL) to residential medium density (RM) so the subdivision could proceed.

The rezoning was needed to allow for 70-foot-wide lots and smaller lot sizes than were available in RL zoning.

On average, Stoneglen will have 2.4 lots per acre. The developer will agree to deed restrictions that state lots are for single-family homes only, not duplexes or apartments.

The subdivision will have a main artery off Peeler Street and three cul-de-sac streets branching off it. The streets will have sidewalks and curbing.

On Oct. 8, the Granite Quarry Planning Board approved a site plan for Stoneglen, if the rezoning were approved by aldermen.

The Planning Board also recommended the rezoning.

Town Planner Steve Blount walked aldermen through the rezoning request and site plan Monday night. He also showed them nearby examples of where houses in existing subdivisions and neighborhoods often have lot widths at 70 feet or less.

“I think that actually changed my mind,” Alderman John Linker said of Blount’s comparison examples. Linker said he had been concerned about whether 70 feet was wide enough for the lots.

Jeff Young of Concord represented the developer and spoke at a public hearing on the rezoning request. He said Stoneglen will be a quality subdivision consistent with its surrounding area and a complement to it.

Young added Stoneglen will be a residential development the town will be proud of, and he praised the town’s staff for assisting with the project and its professionalism.

Blount’s planning notes said the N.C. Department of Transportation will consider the impact of possible traffic increases on Byrd Road when it grants a driveway permit for Stoneglen.

While families might have concerns about “living on an already busy Byrd Road,” Blount said, “from a planning perspective, the increase in traffic volumes caused by 31 homes would likely be considered minimal, and it is unlikely a turn lane or other traffic management systems would be required by N.C. DOT.”

Blount said the town office had drawings for this subdivision dating back to 1992, and the town board approved detailed drawings for a 33-lot subdivision in this same area on Oct. 1, 2007.

But the project was put on hold because of the economic downtown. Over the years, the town’s Unified Development Ordinance changed, meaning the old plans had to be revised when the developer revived the project a year ago.

The developer agreed to a payment-in-lieu-of option for the UDO’s requirement of a certain amount of open space to go with the subdivision. After that money is paid, the town must use it elsewhere for other open space.

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263.