Revised site plan makes it past Planning Board By Mark Wineka Salisbury Post The Salisbury Village Center -- a proposed development of retail shops, restaurants, offices and apartments off Jake Alexander Boulevard -- cleared a city hurdle this week. The Salisbury Planning Board endorsed a site plan for the center after one of its committees hammered out some details related to the future project's impact on the Castlewood residential neighborhood to the south. Jerry Wilkes, the Planning Board member who headed the committee, commended developer Lane Yates, Castlewood residents and city staff members for their ability to compromise on several items. The committee, with representatives of all parties in attendance, met five different times in less than a month. Castlewood residents were especially concerned about a buffer between the development and their homes, and the entrance road -- Castlewood Drive -- that they will share in the future. Here were some of the things agreed to this week: - A natural, 35-foot-wide buffer will be maintained along the Castlewood side of Salisbury Village Center. Yates noted that this buffer will be about 75 percent larger than what is required by city rules. After the project is complete, the city will visit the site to determine whether any additional planting is necessary. - An area by a proposed clubhouse, which will serve the apartments, was shifted, and Yates reduced the square footage of the clubhouse by about half to 4,930 square feet. Wilkes reported that Betty Hubbard, a Castlewood resident who would be most affected by the pool and clubhouse, saw the changes as an acceptable compromise. - A four-way stop is recommended for an intersection at Castlewood Drive and a street into the new development. - Because a four-lane, landscaped entrance at Castlewood Drive will take the existing Castlewood sign and landscaping next to homes, Yates will replace the sign to something of equal value. If it costs more, the neighborhood will make up the difference. - Yates will provide all new landscaping between the expanded Castlewood entrance and the backs of homes. On a new berm, the tallest plantings will be 7 to 8 feet initially and filled in with lower, denser plant material, creating a full visual separation in three years. The construction of the Castlewood Drive entrance may not start for one to two years. Construction vehicles will initially enter the 26-acre tract from N.C. 150. - The parties concluded that they had no control over when, if ever, the N.C. Department of Transportation would install a traffic signal at Jake Alexander Boulevard and Castlewood Drive. - The developer also agreed to reduce the number of drives going into the development from Castlewood Drive and provide slip lanes for right-turning traffic. The Planning Board recommendation goes on to Salisbury City Council for final approval. Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263 or mwineka@salisburypost.com.
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