Guilford County has filed a protest petition against the proposed rezoning of land in High Point that in turn would block a proposed mental hospital.
Guilford can file the protest petition as owners of the land. The county is trying to sell the land to Florida-based GEO Care, which would build and operate the state’s forensics mental hospital.
The Rhino reports High Point’s Planning and Zoning Commission gave an unfavorable recommendation in response to city’s request to rezone the land from institutional to residential multifamily. Guilford County’s protest petition means three-quarters of the City Council would have to approve the rezoning, and the Rhino speculates Mayor Becky Smothers unlikely will gather support to push it through.
Both the Rhino and the N&R’s Doug Clark note GEO’s lobbying of the Five Points neighborhood, promising jobs and contribution to local charities.
Call me jaded, but my antennae went up when I read this, because we’ve got a real problem these days with both the public and private sector promising more than they can deliver.
