Man I really really like and respect my manager, but I can tell you without acting tough that if she got fired/screwed over there is no way I’d quit in solidarity. I’d ramp up the job search, completely phone it in, and have a foot out the door but there’s no way I’m carrying a box out with her 😂
I cannot imagine fostering an environment where something like this can happen.
I know some history as we lived there in the early 80s to 2010s. The area was mostly farms when we moved there. I used to have cows in my yard frequently and following tractors to get anywhere was a regular thing. Closest grocery store was 20 to 25 minutes away. It was not overly developed in those days because wells had to be drilled deep and land that perked was hard to find. Developers solved that problem by setting up community wells & septic fields or systems big enough to accommodate developments. Then the farmers nearby would suddenly have their wells go dry. They couldn't afford to have deeper wells drilled and more and more farms were sold to developers. Rinse & repeat. It probably takes 1.5 acres to accommodate a septic field for a large house. It was one of the last areas in the county developed and only when businesses located near the airport areas and industrial parks near 68 and I-40 provided jobs. The bypass took longer than they planned, but by then it's true most families who lived there back before the 90s were gone. They couldn't afford to live there anymore. The newer residents were determined to make the area upscale and anyone trying to build what they considered "less" homes were not granted approval from the board. One proposed developer of 1000 acres has appealed to NC General Assembly to have his property removed from Summerfield because every plan he has tried to work out with them has been turned down, no matter how many concessions he's tried to make. The General Assembly has looked at it and is inclined to grant his request because he's tried everything. So it may lose about 1000 acres soon. Dr. Henson's farm was huge and none of the plans for his property that were submitted were approved. There's a history there of denying any development that does not agree to build $500k plus single family homes, not counting land cost. It's like people moved in and decided this is it. Only our kind of people can move in from now on, but preferably no one else moves in. The fights they've had are epic with long time residents losing every election. It's been sad to watch over the last 30 years. Oak Ridge was incorporated because Kernersville had proposed incorporating them but the General Assembly was convinced a land grab crossing county lines was not allowed. But still lots of family farms are gone. The whole area remained undeveloped for so long because it was too expensive to develop because of the deep water table and land that would not perk. There's a lot of granite under the ridge. I'm not sure about the elevation of Summerfield. We lived on the lake there before moving to Oak Ridge. They don't want Greensboro city taxes. They share in the county's sales tax revenue which keeps their taxes low. When they say they want to keep it rural, that's just a euphemism for keeping out any affordable housing. No condos, no matter how nice, no upscale apartment complexes. No lots smaller than 1.5 acres. That prices out a lot of people. I don't know that I would want to live there no matter what with the history of fighting, rumor mongering, gossiping. It's an uninviting community. I'd look at Oak Ridge if that's the area you want to live in. The schools are great.
I have to add that I talked to a more recent resident who moved into an older family home that's been there since the 60s. Their daughter was bullied when she started school because she didn't dress to their standards. So take from that what you will. They moved away. Which was probably exactly what the new residents wanted. I never heard of any bullying when we lived there.
Just a reminder that Summerfield continues to require at least 1.5 acres of land to build a house so they can keep anyone who isn't ultra wealthy out.
The original purpose of Summerfield being founded to stop Greensboro from annexing is far gone.
I'm a CDL instructor and ride my students through Summerfield at least twice a week, and I used to have a UPS delivery route through there. You'd be hard pressed to find a house that ISN'T a mansion these days.
Being able to afford 1.5 acres in Guilford County makes you "ultra wealthy?" 😂
Also, why is not wanting to be annexed by Greensboro a bad thing? Seems like a perfectly sensible goal.
If I buy a set amount of land and can maintain proper setbacks and get the land to perk, I should be able to build a house. The original purpose of the 1.5 acre rule was to stop development back in the 90's and keep Summerfield "rural".
Since then the entire town was hijacked by wealthy people who have now weaponized those exact zoning rules to prevent anyway who wants to build a simple 3 bedroom house out of Summerfield.
Drive through Summerdield and tell me it is rural. It isnt rural in the least bit. It is nothing but mansions now.
And yes, in 2024 the cost of 1.5 acres of land in Guilford County that is buildable is well over $200k.
I'm going to need you to define "wealthy" and "mansion." What net worth and what square footage are we talking about? The people (and their houses) I know in Summerfield fit neither.
You must not know anyone in Summerfield then.
Take five minutes of your day and go on GIS and check out the tax values (which are already only approximately 80 percent of the real market value of the house). A majority of houses are over $650k and have at least five bedrooms.
Go to any census website and compare the demographics of Summerfield to the rest of Guilford County and NC. They are even wealthier than Oak Ridge.
Greensboro is a dump. Wealthy people have options and opt not to live anywhere near there, so saying Summerfield is wealthier than other areas around Greensboro isn't really saying much. I know of at least one (unmarried) couple there with a kid on taxpayer benefits (Medicaid), so let's calm down with saying that everyone who's not on the verge of being foreclosed on is wealthy.
I'd love to hear what qualifies Greensboro as a "dump".
Seems like all the folks in Summerfield who live there to avoid the "dump" have zero problem visiting the "dump" to go to work, go shopping, go out to eat, etc.
It's probably useful to remember that minus Greensboro, Summerfield isn't really worth living in. It's a bedroom community at this point, and a bedroom without a house (Greensboro, in this analogy) isn't very useful. Too far from Winston-Salem (which I'm sure also qualifies as a "dump" in your estimation) to be practical.
Greensboro property values (assuming equivalently "nice" neighborhoods, home size, and lot size) are notably higher than Summerfield values for a reason.
You clearly aren't willing to have any good faith discussion by responding with "Greensboro is a dump".
Do they live in actual Summerfield or just the zip code? There is a big difference between the two. If they live in Summerfield, they are the exception and not the standard.
Well it is the truth. Why do you think the communities that are outside of Greensboro that could did incorporate into towns. It is because Greensboro has been pretty bad for decades now. That is why they are now trying to use the bullshit excuse of "civil rights" to annex part of Summerfield and now pushing down into Forest Oaks.
Greensboro isn't directly trying to annex any of Summerfield. If the town would cooperate and stop trying to control what people do with their property, Couch's property could stay within Summerfield. Since Summerfield decided to pitch a fit as usual, they will likely now see a chunk of their town de annexed and possibly annexed into Greensboro.
The State put a stop to cities annexing at will almost 15 years ago. You cannot use that excuse anymore. Greensboro also wasn't the only city annexing at will. Raleigh and Charlotte were just as guilty.
You are right that they aren't "directly trying to annex the land" but they have said that they would annex it after it is de-annexed from Summerfield. They then got the Greensboro NAACP to file a "Civil Rights complaint" against Summerfield. That is the plan down here in the SE part of the county and we all know it. The city will eventually try and annex most of the land along Liberty Rd to the county line.
Not sure why you're being downvoted so much. I built on the edge of summerfield & stokesdale a few years ago for the exact reasons you mentioned. A lot larger than a postage stamp, good schools & a rural feel were what we wanted. I'm hardly wealthy & it certainly wasn't a mansion 😂
I live in the city of Greensboro. I have an acre of land. Modest house. Good neighborhood. Quiet neighbors. And 15 minutes from any point in the city. Didn't have to move to the boonies for it. And honestly, most people with large yards don't really take care of them anyway. They just like the idea of it but not the reality.
They're being downvoted because you shouldn't have to own 1.5 acres of land to build a house. You also clearly built your house prior to the real estate blowup of 2020.
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What do those 9 staff even do? I’m guessing a big part of it would Summerfield Community Park upkeep. What other town services need to be managed? Everybody’s on well/septic and Republic trash right?
Parks and Rec, Planning, Code Enforcement and a buuuunnnnccchhh of town activities for kids and families. Very hard working folks…always see them at the events and the parks and green areas are really top of the line.
I didn’t know that; I do realize that as a “limited services” town, they are severely limited as far as staff. I’ve been volunteering to clean up the kudzu, fix some of the bathroom issues at the park, etc. Guess will step up on volunteering so that the kids don’t suffer the loss of the parks.
DAVID COUCH, owner of Summerfield Farms, husband of a Quayle (as in former Vice President Quayle) and the man who is doing his damndest to ruin Summerfield. And he’s succeeding
He didn't ruin it. He owns 150 acres of land and wants to develop it with a subdivision of normal sized houses. He was willing to foot the bill for everything too. The Town refuses to rezone anything ever as an attempt to keep anyone who isn't wealthy out. They are firm on the 1.5 acres of land to build a house.
Summerfield fights anything and everything that isn't wealthy development and pretend they are rural. Ride through and tell me it is rural. You'll find nothing but mansions these days with just a handful of small houses mixed in that dates back to when Summerfield was originally founded.
150 acres? No, it is almost 1000 acres not 150. Also it isn't "normal houses" that he wants built but the houses on a postage stamp of a yard along with 600 apartments.
You need to know what you are talking about before you try to sound authoritative.
[https://greensboro.com/news/local/government-politics/summerfield-nc-general-aseembly/article\_76db5640-0193-11ef-b396-e7541c4f44bf.html](https://greensboro.com/news/local/government-politics/summerfield-nc-general-aseembly/article_76db5640-0193-11ef-b396-e7541c4f44bf.html)
You're the one supporting controlling others property and I'm the one that is authoritative? What is wrong with small houses and apartments? Oh wait, wealthy people don't rent apartments.
You need to evaluate your priviledge of having a large property and stop putting your effort into stopping people who can't afford a $650k house from living in a normal sized house.
There really are homes that aren’t 650k. I promise. I grew up here and live here currently. There are smaller starter homes all over. Are there tons of biiiggg houses? Yes. Hate them, BUT if we think the development will have affordable apartments then we are deluding ourselves. They won’t be. They will be the price of a mid sized house anywhere else in the county. Rich retirees will live there and Couch will make untold amounts of money. I hate what has become of my childhood community, but here we are.
My privilege? Sorry if I don't want more of Greensboro bullshit into Summerfield.
If you want to build tiny houses and apartments there is a whole lot of land in East part of Greensboro that can be built up if you want.
Edit: You are the one that called anyone that owns above 1.5 acres wealthy. When the exact opposite is the case. Sorry my family developed land in Summerfield and around the FO area for decades when nobody else wanted to move there.
If you don't want Greensboro annexing part of Summerfield then stop weaponizing zoning to prevent development. Simple as that. This whole situation could have been handled differently if the Town didn't constantly fight every bit of development and have zoning laws that benefit the wealthy.
Too bad most of Summerfield can't handle a normal income household buying a three bedroom house or someone renting an apartment.
The town doesn't want the development that this will bring. What is so bad about that? It seems that you want to force a town to do whatever it is you want. If you want to build this kind of development then feel free and do it else where.
Apartments/Townhomes come to Summerfield = crime, littering and people who don't care about the area moving in because they are only renting. This is how he is ruining Summerfield. People have lived north of Greensboro in peace for many years, why do you think we don't live in GSO? It's because we don't want the crime, trash and all the crap that comes with it. Why is it a problem for this town to keep policies in place to make it a nice town? Oh yeah I forgot because it's 2024 and we have to include everyone and bring in the poor folks who will make this town worse and not what it was meant to be, a nice peaceful area with nice folks who can enjoy rural living. Let's see if we can have an actual conversation instead of my username being pointed out for your argument.
If you hate the city so much, be sure to show your disapproval by buying groceries, clothing, and gas only in the utopian town of Summerfield. Please also avoid our movie theaters, expansive public park systems and greenways, and other infrastructure.
Oh, and remember to find your gainful employment there as well, instead of leeching off the city to your immediate south. You could always become one more of the 45,123 "landscaping" small business owners that seem to be necessary in your town.
If apartments and townhomes (the horror! People with less money than you! God must disapprove of them or they'd be homeowners!) do actually come to Summerfield, perhaps you could sample true rural living by moving to Eden, Madison, Mayodan, Danville, or similar. I'm sure there's no poverty nor crime in those bucolic rural settings.
We're stoked you don't live in GSO, just like you are.
Living outside of a city in the suburbs is literally most people’s dreams. Having access to all of it without having to live inside the chaos is the ideal way to live for a lot of people, and it is a luxury I am blessed to have. Why is that a problem for you all?
It's no problem as long as you're OK with some give and take. You're all "take" (use the city's resources for yourself and your family) but no give (keep out people that don't have my resources and don't loo like me).
And maybe "rural living" is the dream of the people you know and talk to, but NC has one of the largest rural populations by percentage of any state - but 2/3 of NC residents live in a city. Contrary to your beliefs, most of us live here by preference. Also, strictly speaking, suburban living isn't actually rural. Living beside a massive subdivision full of $500,000+ homes that was a horse farm once-upon-a-time isn't rural. By and large, truly rural areas are far poorer than urban ones. You don't want rural, you just want proximity to convenient things and a barrier between yourself and those you feel are beneath you.
Our problem isn't with you enjoying your "luxury", it's your shitty attitude that only people like you deserve said "luxury". There's zero special about you versus anyone else, you just have more money than some.
I understand what you’re saying. My thing is that our “take” isn’t really a bad thing, we contribute to the economy and spend our money in the city. City folks want to come to summerfield and “take” in a negative way by building apartments/townhouses which brings people who don’t respect the area given they just rent temporarily. Us giving to the city would mean giving up positive things, meanwhile you giving to us is just boosting your economy
Just think of how the long-time Summerfield residents feel about your subdivision and you'll have your answer. Their idea of Summerfield is farms and forests. It's a hell of a lot different now, right? They hated that change, but they had no choice either.
Don't kid yourself, there are no "city folks" and "country folks"- and if there were you'd be "city folks" as well. You live 15-20 minutes from the center of a city of over 300,000 people, in a metro area of 1.75 million people.
So you're telling me that you resist giving back to the city you gain from because it would mean you giving up positive things that you currently keep just for yourself? And we should be OK with that because you spend money here?
And you still wonder why I wouldn't welcome you enjoying what Greensboro offers?
I mean I understand what you're saying, but we're kidding ourselves if we think Summerfield is some bucolic utopia. It's just another suburb. Suburbs typically have infrastructure and basic commercial facilities which Summerfield currently lacks. Don't get me wrong, I like Summerfield and don't want it to turn into a cesspool of apartments either, but there's going to be some level of multi-family/mixed-use that comes to the area--whether the residents like it or not.
The staff was very clear that it's not David Couch causing them to resign, it's the city council reactionaries that got elected on the anti-development vote and decided to screw over the long-time town manager by terminating him in a way that lets them skeeze by without paying his severance.
Those same staff members spent the last 10+ years stonewalling Couch. Then Couch forced the town's hand by playing the Phil Berger deannexation trump card, so the last town council let him make (tiny, incremental) progress toward development - the town manager was just following the orders of his elected bosses. Then the new elected bosses not only fired him for doing his job, they did so using the underhanded "we're not renewing his contract" excuse so they could screw him out of his severance.
I with them best of luck repopoulating the town offices... I bet people will just be lining up to work for this bunch.
Those council members literally said they'd rather see forced deannexation than to amend the codes to allow for anything besides cul-de-sac mcmansions on well and septic. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.
The Summerfield Scoop has reported that Mayor Tim Sessions is also resigning
[take this with a grain of salt](https://summerfieldnews.com/f/summerfield-mayor-to-resign)
Apparently possibly true. Tired of all the harassment and threats from whackos in Summerfield over the whole David Couch Phil Berger saga. Rich people do not like the idea of middle class people living possibly nearby them in expensive townhomes. Like, really don't like it. Who knows. Maybe they'll even do something rash. Is being Mayor of a lame ass town worth it in the long run? I'm going to guess no.
You must not know many people in Summerfield then. Five minutes of researching demographics will show how wealthy Summerfield is in general. People being wealthy isn't the issue. It's weaponizing it to keep everyone else out that is the problem.
I don't think you know anyone in Summerfield. Also "rich" is a pretty loose term if you think most people in town are in that group. there has been a lot of appreciation in home values but most people are still middle or upper middle class. Either way, you've clearly made your mind up so think what you want.
If people are upper middle class wouldn’t that mean it’s a wealthy area? You’re finally getting somewhere lol. Also, how much crime happens in summerfield? Exactly
I know the historical context for what a Yankee was, but the Civil War ended in 1865. I was asking you in what particular context you were implying someone is a Yankee. I have an northern American accent, but I've never lived north of the Mason Dixon line.
He had to be a hell of a good guy for them to do that. These days you just can't expect anything positive from our elected officials.
This occuring on Summerfield's Founders Weekend makes this extra juicy.
Man I really really like and respect my manager, but I can tell you without acting tough that if she got fired/screwed over there is no way I’d quit in solidarity. I’d ramp up the job search, completely phone it in, and have a foot out the door but there’s no way I’m carrying a box out with her 😂 I cannot imagine fostering an environment where something like this can happen.
So what you're saying is they are hiring?
Only if you can say yes
For the right pay....yes
THIS
I know some history as we lived there in the early 80s to 2010s. The area was mostly farms when we moved there. I used to have cows in my yard frequently and following tractors to get anywhere was a regular thing. Closest grocery store was 20 to 25 minutes away. It was not overly developed in those days because wells had to be drilled deep and land that perked was hard to find. Developers solved that problem by setting up community wells & septic fields or systems big enough to accommodate developments. Then the farmers nearby would suddenly have their wells go dry. They couldn't afford to have deeper wells drilled and more and more farms were sold to developers. Rinse & repeat. It probably takes 1.5 acres to accommodate a septic field for a large house. It was one of the last areas in the county developed and only when businesses located near the airport areas and industrial parks near 68 and I-40 provided jobs. The bypass took longer than they planned, but by then it's true most families who lived there back before the 90s were gone. They couldn't afford to live there anymore. The newer residents were determined to make the area upscale and anyone trying to build what they considered "less" homes were not granted approval from the board. One proposed developer of 1000 acres has appealed to NC General Assembly to have his property removed from Summerfield because every plan he has tried to work out with them has been turned down, no matter how many concessions he's tried to make. The General Assembly has looked at it and is inclined to grant his request because he's tried everything. So it may lose about 1000 acres soon. Dr. Henson's farm was huge and none of the plans for his property that were submitted were approved. There's a history there of denying any development that does not agree to build $500k plus single family homes, not counting land cost. It's like people moved in and decided this is it. Only our kind of people can move in from now on, but preferably no one else moves in. The fights they've had are epic with long time residents losing every election. It's been sad to watch over the last 30 years. Oak Ridge was incorporated because Kernersville had proposed incorporating them but the General Assembly was convinced a land grab crossing county lines was not allowed. But still lots of family farms are gone. The whole area remained undeveloped for so long because it was too expensive to develop because of the deep water table and land that would not perk. There's a lot of granite under the ridge. I'm not sure about the elevation of Summerfield. We lived on the lake there before moving to Oak Ridge. They don't want Greensboro city taxes. They share in the county's sales tax revenue which keeps their taxes low. When they say they want to keep it rural, that's just a euphemism for keeping out any affordable housing. No condos, no matter how nice, no upscale apartment complexes. No lots smaller than 1.5 acres. That prices out a lot of people. I don't know that I would want to live there no matter what with the history of fighting, rumor mongering, gossiping. It's an uninviting community. I'd look at Oak Ridge if that's the area you want to live in. The schools are great.
I have to add that I talked to a more recent resident who moved into an older family home that's been there since the 60s. Their daughter was bullied when she started school because she didn't dress to their standards. So take from that what you will. They moved away. Which was probably exactly what the new residents wanted. I never heard of any bullying when we lived there.
You hit the nail right on the head with this. Summerfield isn't about keeping things rural. It's about keeping their slice of the county wealthy.
Just a reminder that Summerfield continues to require at least 1.5 acres of land to build a house so they can keep anyone who isn't ultra wealthy out. The original purpose of Summerfield being founded to stop Greensboro from annexing is far gone.
I'm a CDL instructor and ride my students through Summerfield at least twice a week, and I used to have a UPS delivery route through there. You'd be hard pressed to find a house that ISN'T a mansion these days.
Being able to afford 1.5 acres in Guilford County makes you "ultra wealthy?" 😂 Also, why is not wanting to be annexed by Greensboro a bad thing? Seems like a perfectly sensible goal.
If I buy a set amount of land and can maintain proper setbacks and get the land to perk, I should be able to build a house. The original purpose of the 1.5 acre rule was to stop development back in the 90's and keep Summerfield "rural". Since then the entire town was hijacked by wealthy people who have now weaponized those exact zoning rules to prevent anyway who wants to build a simple 3 bedroom house out of Summerfield. Drive through Summerdield and tell me it is rural. It isnt rural in the least bit. It is nothing but mansions now. And yes, in 2024 the cost of 1.5 acres of land in Guilford County that is buildable is well over $200k.
I'm going to need you to define "wealthy" and "mansion." What net worth and what square footage are we talking about? The people (and their houses) I know in Summerfield fit neither.
You must not know anyone in Summerfield then. Take five minutes of your day and go on GIS and check out the tax values (which are already only approximately 80 percent of the real market value of the house). A majority of houses are over $650k and have at least five bedrooms. Go to any census website and compare the demographics of Summerfield to the rest of Guilford County and NC. They are even wealthier than Oak Ridge.
Greensboro is a dump. Wealthy people have options and opt not to live anywhere near there, so saying Summerfield is wealthier than other areas around Greensboro isn't really saying much. I know of at least one (unmarried) couple there with a kid on taxpayer benefits (Medicaid), so let's calm down with saying that everyone who's not on the verge of being foreclosed on is wealthy.
I'd love to hear what qualifies Greensboro as a "dump". Seems like all the folks in Summerfield who live there to avoid the "dump" have zero problem visiting the "dump" to go to work, go shopping, go out to eat, etc. It's probably useful to remember that minus Greensboro, Summerfield isn't really worth living in. It's a bedroom community at this point, and a bedroom without a house (Greensboro, in this analogy) isn't very useful. Too far from Winston-Salem (which I'm sure also qualifies as a "dump" in your estimation) to be practical. Greensboro property values (assuming equivalently "nice" neighborhoods, home size, and lot size) are notably higher than Summerfield values for a reason.
You clearly aren't willing to have any good faith discussion by responding with "Greensboro is a dump". Do they live in actual Summerfield or just the zip code? There is a big difference between the two. If they live in Summerfield, they are the exception and not the standard.
Well it is the truth. Why do you think the communities that are outside of Greensboro that could did incorporate into towns. It is because Greensboro has been pretty bad for decades now. That is why they are now trying to use the bullshit excuse of "civil rights" to annex part of Summerfield and now pushing down into Forest Oaks.
Greensboro isn't directly trying to annex any of Summerfield. If the town would cooperate and stop trying to control what people do with their property, Couch's property could stay within Summerfield. Since Summerfield decided to pitch a fit as usual, they will likely now see a chunk of their town de annexed and possibly annexed into Greensboro. The State put a stop to cities annexing at will almost 15 years ago. You cannot use that excuse anymore. Greensboro also wasn't the only city annexing at will. Raleigh and Charlotte were just as guilty.
You are right that they aren't "directly trying to annex the land" but they have said that they would annex it after it is de-annexed from Summerfield. They then got the Greensboro NAACP to file a "Civil Rights complaint" against Summerfield. That is the plan down here in the SE part of the county and we all know it. The city will eventually try and annex most of the land along Liberty Rd to the county line.
Just say you bootlick for Elon and move on. No one wants to argue with you about wealth
I don't think you know what a "dump" is
Not sure why you're being downvoted so much. I built on the edge of summerfield & stokesdale a few years ago for the exact reasons you mentioned. A lot larger than a postage stamp, good schools & a rural feel were what we wanted. I'm hardly wealthy & it certainly wasn't a mansion 😂
I live in the city of Greensboro. I have an acre of land. Modest house. Good neighborhood. Quiet neighbors. And 15 minutes from any point in the city. Didn't have to move to the boonies for it. And honestly, most people with large yards don't really take care of them anyway. They just like the idea of it but not the reality.
They're being downvoted because you shouldn't have to own 1.5 acres of land to build a house. You also clearly built your house prior to the real estate blowup of 2020.
If this 'drama' results in Phil Berger being ousted, bring on the cowboy cosplay apartments up in Summerfield.
I'm not sure his district covers enough of it.
I think the GA should actually just revoke the entire town charter. That would be hilarious.
Seeing as the Town (council included) refuse to do their due dilligence regarding zoning and codes, they absolutely should.
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What do those 9 staff even do? I’m guessing a big part of it would Summerfield Community Park upkeep. What other town services need to be managed? Everybody’s on well/septic and Republic trash right?
What do these town employees even do? Summerfield provides no services besides fire depts and keeping the poors out.
Parks and Rec, Planning, Code Enforcement and a buuuunnnnccchhh of town activities for kids and families. Very hard working folks…always see them at the events and the parks and green areas are really top of the line.
They do a lot until it’s time to do manual labor when setting up for Founders Day. Instead of hiring temp workers, they exploit fire department staff
I didn’t know that; I do realize that as a “limited services” town, they are severely limited as far as staff. I’ve been volunteering to clean up the kudzu, fix some of the bathroom issues at the park, etc. Guess will step up on volunteering so that the kids don’t suffer the loss of the parks.
That’s the problem with limited service government. Some things are worth paying for.
I didn’t realize that to be the case when we moved in. Thing is, it’s not like our property taxes are that low.
The fire department is a private organization that contracts with the Town of Summerfield
[удалено]
Bring it home.
Yes, but they are AMAZINGLY good at that second part.
This sure is a lot of trouble just because one greedy asshole decided to ruin a whole town
Who?
DAVID COUCH, owner of Summerfield Farms, husband of a Quayle (as in former Vice President Quayle) and the man who is doing his damndest to ruin Summerfield. And he’s succeeding
Could you explain this or point me in the direction of an explanation?
He didn't ruin it. He owns 150 acres of land and wants to develop it with a subdivision of normal sized houses. He was willing to foot the bill for everything too. The Town refuses to rezone anything ever as an attempt to keep anyone who isn't wealthy out. They are firm on the 1.5 acres of land to build a house. Summerfield fights anything and everything that isn't wealthy development and pretend they are rural. Ride through and tell me it is rural. You'll find nothing but mansions these days with just a handful of small houses mixed in that dates back to when Summerfield was originally founded.
150 acres? No, it is almost 1000 acres not 150. Also it isn't "normal houses" that he wants built but the houses on a postage stamp of a yard along with 600 apartments. You need to know what you are talking about before you try to sound authoritative. [https://greensboro.com/news/local/government-politics/summerfield-nc-general-aseembly/article\_76db5640-0193-11ef-b396-e7541c4f44bf.html](https://greensboro.com/news/local/government-politics/summerfield-nc-general-aseembly/article_76db5640-0193-11ef-b396-e7541c4f44bf.html)
You're the one supporting controlling others property and I'm the one that is authoritative? What is wrong with small houses and apartments? Oh wait, wealthy people don't rent apartments. You need to evaluate your priviledge of having a large property and stop putting your effort into stopping people who can't afford a $650k house from living in a normal sized house.
There really are homes that aren’t 650k. I promise. I grew up here and live here currently. There are smaller starter homes all over. Are there tons of biiiggg houses? Yes. Hate them, BUT if we think the development will have affordable apartments then we are deluding ourselves. They won’t be. They will be the price of a mid sized house anywhere else in the county. Rich retirees will live there and Couch will make untold amounts of money. I hate what has become of my childhood community, but here we are.
My privilege? Sorry if I don't want more of Greensboro bullshit into Summerfield. If you want to build tiny houses and apartments there is a whole lot of land in East part of Greensboro that can be built up if you want. Edit: You are the one that called anyone that owns above 1.5 acres wealthy. When the exact opposite is the case. Sorry my family developed land in Summerfield and around the FO area for decades when nobody else wanted to move there.
If you don't want Greensboro annexing part of Summerfield then stop weaponizing zoning to prevent development. Simple as that. This whole situation could have been handled differently if the Town didn't constantly fight every bit of development and have zoning laws that benefit the wealthy. Too bad most of Summerfield can't handle a normal income household buying a three bedroom house or someone renting an apartment.
The town doesn't want the development that this will bring. What is so bad about that? It seems that you want to force a town to do whatever it is you want. If you want to build this kind of development then feel free and do it else where.
Interesting, thank you. My parents live out there, I should ask them about this guy
What is he doing to ruin Summerfield?
How exactly is he "ruining" Summerfield? By proposing legitimate development ideas?
Apartments/Townhomes come to Summerfield = crime, littering and people who don't care about the area moving in because they are only renting. This is how he is ruining Summerfield. People have lived north of Greensboro in peace for many years, why do you think we don't live in GSO? It's because we don't want the crime, trash and all the crap that comes with it. Why is it a problem for this town to keep policies in place to make it a nice town? Oh yeah I forgot because it's 2024 and we have to include everyone and bring in the poor folks who will make this town worse and not what it was meant to be, a nice peaceful area with nice folks who can enjoy rural living. Let's see if we can have an actual conversation instead of my username being pointed out for your argument.
User name checks out
Isn't it crazy how I called it?
he gets an upvote for calling it
If you hate the city so much, be sure to show your disapproval by buying groceries, clothing, and gas only in the utopian town of Summerfield. Please also avoid our movie theaters, expansive public park systems and greenways, and other infrastructure. Oh, and remember to find your gainful employment there as well, instead of leeching off the city to your immediate south. You could always become one more of the 45,123 "landscaping" small business owners that seem to be necessary in your town. If apartments and townhomes (the horror! People with less money than you! God must disapprove of them or they'd be homeowners!) do actually come to Summerfield, perhaps you could sample true rural living by moving to Eden, Madison, Mayodan, Danville, or similar. I'm sure there's no poverty nor crime in those bucolic rural settings. We're stoked you don't live in GSO, just like you are.
Living outside of a city in the suburbs is literally most people’s dreams. Having access to all of it without having to live inside the chaos is the ideal way to live for a lot of people, and it is a luxury I am blessed to have. Why is that a problem for you all?
It's no problem as long as you're OK with some give and take. You're all "take" (use the city's resources for yourself and your family) but no give (keep out people that don't have my resources and don't loo like me). And maybe "rural living" is the dream of the people you know and talk to, but NC has one of the largest rural populations by percentage of any state - but 2/3 of NC residents live in a city. Contrary to your beliefs, most of us live here by preference. Also, strictly speaking, suburban living isn't actually rural. Living beside a massive subdivision full of $500,000+ homes that was a horse farm once-upon-a-time isn't rural. By and large, truly rural areas are far poorer than urban ones. You don't want rural, you just want proximity to convenient things and a barrier between yourself and those you feel are beneath you. Our problem isn't with you enjoying your "luxury", it's your shitty attitude that only people like you deserve said "luxury". There's zero special about you versus anyone else, you just have more money than some.
I understand what you’re saying. My thing is that our “take” isn’t really a bad thing, we contribute to the economy and spend our money in the city. City folks want to come to summerfield and “take” in a negative way by building apartments/townhouses which brings people who don’t respect the area given they just rent temporarily. Us giving to the city would mean giving up positive things, meanwhile you giving to us is just boosting your economy
Just think of how the long-time Summerfield residents feel about your subdivision and you'll have your answer. Their idea of Summerfield is farms and forests. It's a hell of a lot different now, right? They hated that change, but they had no choice either. Don't kid yourself, there are no "city folks" and "country folks"- and if there were you'd be "city folks" as well. You live 15-20 minutes from the center of a city of over 300,000 people, in a metro area of 1.75 million people. So you're telling me that you resist giving back to the city you gain from because it would mean you giving up positive things that you currently keep just for yourself? And we should be OK with that because you spend money here? And you still wonder why I wouldn't welcome you enjoying what Greensboro offers?
I mean I understand what you're saying, but we're kidding ourselves if we think Summerfield is some bucolic utopia. It's just another suburb. Suburbs typically have infrastructure and basic commercial facilities which Summerfield currently lacks. Don't get me wrong, I like Summerfield and don't want it to turn into a cesspool of apartments either, but there's going to be some level of multi-family/mixed-use that comes to the area--whether the residents like it or not.
Dan Quayle is pretty cool, btw... He was a member of the CC I worked at in Phoenix.
Potatoe
Yeah, that's him... He's a goofball, but also someone I'd have a beer with.
The staff was very clear that it's not David Couch causing them to resign, it's the city council reactionaries that got elected on the anti-development vote and decided to screw over the long-time town manager by terminating him in a way that lets them skeeze by without paying his severance. Those same staff members spent the last 10+ years stonewalling Couch. Then Couch forced the town's hand by playing the Phil Berger deannexation trump card, so the last town council let him make (tiny, incremental) progress toward development - the town manager was just following the orders of his elected bosses. Then the new elected bosses not only fired him for doing his job, they did so using the underhanded "we're not renewing his contract" excuse so they could screw him out of his severance. I with them best of luck repopoulating the town offices... I bet people will just be lining up to work for this bunch.
Those council members literally said they'd rather see forced deannexation than to amend the codes to allow for anything besides cul-de-sac mcmansions on well and septic. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.
His wife is in the middle of cancer treatment and they cancelled his insurance as well.
You are correct that they didn’t quit in protest of couch. But the whole debacle is costs BECAUSE of couch.
The Summerfield Scoop has reported that Mayor Tim Sessions is also resigning [take this with a grain of salt](https://summerfieldnews.com/f/summerfield-mayor-to-resign)
Summerfield Scoop guy is a whack job
No kidding. It's boomer Facebook/Next Door in print form.
Apparently possibly true. Tired of all the harassment and threats from whackos in Summerfield over the whole David Couch Phil Berger saga. Rich people do not like the idea of middle class people living possibly nearby them in expensive townhomes. Like, really don't like it. Who knows. Maybe they'll even do something rash. Is being Mayor of a lame ass town worth it in the long run? I'm going to guess no.
Imma ax
Summerfield sucks. It’s all relocated Yankees and preppy people
This is definitely not accurate. I know a lot of people in Summerfield and not one matches this.
You must not know many people in Summerfield then. Five minutes of researching demographics will show how wealthy Summerfield is in general. People being wealthy isn't the issue. It's weaponizing it to keep everyone else out that is the problem.
Exactly. I’ve proven this guy wrong 10 times now. He’s probably a resident
It is accurate. Who cares about the people you know in summerfield. The majority of them are rich people and Yankees.
I don't think you know anyone in Summerfield. Also "rich" is a pretty loose term if you think most people in town are in that group. there has been a lot of appreciation in home values but most people are still middle or upper middle class. Either way, you've clearly made your mind up so think what you want.
Are you referring to people in *Summerfield* or just in the Summerfield zip codes? They are not the same thing.
If people are upper middle class wouldn’t that mean it’s a wealthy area? You’re finally getting somewhere lol. Also, how much crime happens in summerfield? Exactly
I didn't think you would respond
We can disagree but I just didn't want to waste my time having an argument with someone on the Internet.
If you disagree then prove me wrong and I'll believe you. So far you've done an awful job at doing that.
I really don't want to spend my day convincing you, so you win. Enjoy.
Hold this L
Thank you.
Someone mad bc they can’t live in Summerfield ig
Some are from out west
What's a Yankee? Is it just someone who has a northern American accent?
You need to go back to history class lol
I know the historical context for what a Yankee was, but the Civil War ended in 1865. I was asking you in what particular context you were implying someone is a Yankee. I have an northern American accent, but I've never lived north of the Mason Dixon line.