Habitat for Humanity of the N.C. Sandhills hopes patience and cooperation will pay off when it takes a new rezoning recommendation before the Aberdeen Town Board in November.

At its Thursday evening meeting, the Aberdeen Planning Board approved a new recommendation for rezoning 12.83 acres of property owned by Habitat between Bronwyn Street and Midway Road from a R-20 residential zone to a R-15 residential zone.

The proposed project, called Midway Gardens, would allow Habitat to build 25 houses on 15,000-square-foot lots as a part of revitalization efforts in the aging Midway community. Habitat originally received a recommendation from the Planning Board for rezoning to an R-10 residential zone in September. The R-10 residential proposal would have allowed 31 houses on 10,000-square-foot lots.

Residents from the Bronwyn community expressed concerns over the higher-density development plan and asked Habitat to decrease the number of houses in the project.

Members of the Town Board also expressed reservations about rezoning for higher density.

After discussion with Habitat executive director Elizabeth Cox at the Town Board's work session Oct. 1, both parties decided rezoning the area as a R-15 residential zone would be a better transition between the Midway and Bronwyn communities and serve as a rezoning compromise.

"Going from R-10 to R-15 costs us more money, but it is a very good compromise," Cox said. "To build a good neighborhood is more important than to build more houses."

For more on this story, see Sunday's print edition of The Pilot.