New Ashcroft Subdivison Gets Green Light

The Clayton Town Council cleared the way Monday for a group of local developers to build 150 new homes on a 75-acre tract off North O'Neil Street.

The Johnston Land Group, which will build 104 single-family homes and 46 townhomes, agreed to set aside 5.4 acres of the land for a park where the portion of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail that comes through Clayton links up with the Sams Branch Greenway. About 1.6 acres of the park land will be donated to the town for use as a trailhead.

Several Councilmen, including Mayor Pro Tem Michael Grannis, were disturbed that the land to be donated for the trailhead was less than the 2.3 acres promised when the development was originally approved four years ago. But Grannis said the redesign of the project, which preserves large stands of hardwood trees all through the subdivision, more than made up the difference.

"I think this is a good development," he said. "It's a better development."

The town intends to lease the 5.4-acre park tract from the developers, so that work can begin on the trailhead as soon as possible.

Plans for the development, to be called the Ashcroft Subdivision, were first brought to the town for approval in 2006 but were later withdrawn and revised. It will be marketed to seniors 55-years-of-age and older.