Winston-Salem may annex land by June

[Beany]

Although Forsyth is smaller than Guilford in land and population, Forsyth has a more robust growth rate. Winston should therefore annex in accordance with Forsyth's higher growth rate and population boom. I would like to see Winston annex to have a population of over 250,000 in the next few years. Winston is definitely taking it to the next level.

I'm not sure I agree with the "robust" part. Forsyth has grown at a faster rate over the past five years however it has added less people overall.

Forsyth:

2005: 325,967 (added 19,900 people or 6.5% increase since 2000)

2000: 306,067 (added 40,189 people or 15.1% increase since 1990)

1990: 265, 878

Guilford:

2005: 443,519 (added 22,471 people or 5.3% increase since 2000)

2000: 421,048 (added 73,628 people or 21.2% increase since 1990)

1990: 347,420

It is interesting that Forsyth has grown at a faster rate than Guilford over the past five years. It is still to be determined whether that will continue. Guilford is now seeing and will continue to see a lot of growth in the eastern half of the county. Because of that, during the second half of this century you might see Guilford's growth rate increase again.

As far as W-S annexation I have a hard time seeing Winston annexing its way up to 250,000 any time in the near future. It is already going to be the second largest city in the state in land area behind Charlotte. I think it would make it difficult to provide citizens with good service (police, fire protection, parks, libraries, etc.) and would be costly if it were to annex another huge area of land anytime soon.

[Metropolitan's]

I can't belive that Winston-Salem wiLL BE The second largest in land area Behind Charlotte.

[JunktionFET]

I am glad that Winston-Salem is going through the changes. I hope it will put it more on the map because it is really is a cool city, not to mention the fact that it benefits the whole Triad region as well.

I personally have no problem with a large land area--I actually think it is a good thing for consistency, etc... but low population with high land usage really drops the perceived population density overall--and so some people are bound to complain about that. Yes, people in-the-know can look at Urbanized Area population, etc... but using the most common variables (land area and population), it makes the density seem worse than it really is. Not that it even matters anyway--this isn't changing the core of Winston-Salem.

[Forsyth]

The state Appoved Winston-Salem Annexation today, check out the whole story at myfoxwghp.com.

[blburton]

The population post-annexation will be 203,249 based on the city website for annexation.

the pop should be around 215,000 so ~20,000 behind GSO.

[suburban george3]

^ thats if the annexaton goes through. a member on SSP says the new estimates are over 217,000

It's official, the annexation is a go, the NC Supreme Court upheld city plans to annex. On Sept. 30th Winston-Salem will have more than 212,500 people and will move ahead of Durham to be the 4th largest NC city. WSJ Article on Annexation

Let's hope W-S can attain a growth rate that we can keep Durham at bay for many years to come!!

[DCMetroRaleigh]

Also, the city should consider annexing those areas that it dropped from the annexation plan as those areas grow in population. Hopefully, by 2010, the city can annex at least another 10,000 people in nearby areas.

[ILoveCallingNCHome]

Some people just hate change. They have no vision.

I think that the thing is that they have a different vision as to what is good for them and the community at large. Some people moved outside of the city limits because of the life that offered. (not to mention not having to pay city taxes) Not everyone thinks that a city has to continue to grow bigger and bigger to be the best.

[blburton]

Very well put.

I think that the thing is that they have a different vision as to what is good for them and the community at large. Some people moved outside of the city limits because of the life that offered. (not to mention not having to pay city taxes) Not everyone thinks that a city has to continue to grow bigger and bigger to be the best.

[eddard]

I can understand being upset at being annexed and not having a say in it. We moved from King to West Salem because we wanted to. Everyone said "Oh, your taxes will go up" (King's taxes were cheaper, of course). They did, but the way we looked at it, it was the price we had to pay to be where we wanted to be.

But we did have a choice. The folks being annexed don't.

[blburton]

That is amazing... I didn't realize that W-S (and Greensboro) were that spread out. What I think is more interesting is that even though Raleigh will have less land area than both of the big Triad cities, the city will have a population well over 100,000 more... 203K (W-S) vs. 235K (G) vs. 353K . Charlotte is on another level with 281 sq miles.

I can't belive that Winston-Salem wiLL BE The second largest in land area Behind Charlotte.

[twincity]

from wxii.com

The city's population on Sept. 30 will be 227,811, officials said.

link

not sure if this is accurate

[Atlside]

Durham County Total Population

223,314 Census 2000

229,295 July 1, 2001

233,493 July 1, 2002

235,952 July 1, 2003

239,468 July 1, 2004

242,582 July 1, 2005

Durham City Total Population

187,035 Census 2000

192,097 July 1, 2001

195,656 July 1, 2002

198,158 July 1, 2003

201,683 July 1, 2004

204,845 July 1, 2005

http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTab...=&-_lang=en

[DCMetroRaleigh]

Don't look now, but Fayetteville wants to do another big bang annexation that may see its population approach 250,000, including an ambitious plan to annex Ft. Bragg with the military's blessing.

[suburban george3]

Don't look now, but Fayetteville wants to do another big bang annexation that may see its population approach 250,000, including an ambitious plan to annex Ft. Bragg with the military's blessing.

I can't find anything on current/future plans for a Fayetteville annexation. I see their last annexation which took place in Sept. of last year where they added 40K+ people. The July 1, 2005 census estimate for Fayetteville is 129,928 and the Fayetteville city website says the pop. is 174,000. The difference being the amount of people annexed.

I mean, if they annex to 250,000 they might as well merge with the county since it's pop is only 304,520.

I personally think that Fayetteville will be behind Winston-Salem and Durham for sometime.

[blburton]

city website uses figures from 2000 census. thats where i got my #s from. http://www.ci.winston-salem.nc.us/Assets/C...ummary_June.pdf

for 2006, im sure the officials are right!

from wxii.com

The city's population on Sept. 30 will be 227,811, officials said.

link

not sure if this is accurate

[NCMike1981]

Ok Fayetteville does not need to be 250,000 people, that would be insane...

[DCMetroRaleigh]

And merge with Cumberland County is exactly what Fayetteville may do.

Unifying Fayetteville and Cumberland County as one government? Unimaginable

[DCMetroRaleigh]

Fayetteville is working overtime to displace Winston-Salem and Durham on the NC's largest cities list.

By Don Worthington

Staff writer

Fayetteville and Spring Lake want to bring Fort Bragg into their city limits.

An incorporation request from Fayetteville, Spring Lake and Cumberland County will be sent to Col. Al Aycock, Fort Bragg

[DCMetroRaleigh]

Spring Lake Mayor Ethel Clark said she has talked privately with the town

[blburton]

I don't know if I would say "Fayetteville doesn't need 250,000", because you could say that about so many other places in the US that annex like crazy or have city-county mergers. The population is just horribly inflated when compared to the square mileage and that isn't always the best thing IMO. Look at Va Beach. Largest city in VA with a pop of 450,000 with no skyline (changing with VA Town Center)...... and 500 square miles of land. Former Princess Anne County and VA Beach merged in 1963. The southern half of the city is just farmland and swamps down to the NC line.

Ok Fayetteville does not need to be 250,000 people, that would be insane...

[suburban george3]

If Fayetteville just gained 30K, it would have aroun 205,000. Still behind Winston-Salem and Durham. However, if they combined city and county it would leap frog Winston-Salem, Durham, and Greensboro. But the combination scenario faces MAJOR obstacles and is just in the review and study stage at this point.

[yadkinv]

So, I reckon cities should never annex; stagnate and shrivle?

[Forsyth]

It looks like Greensboro, Durham, Winston-Salem and maybe Fayetteville are going to be close In population over the next couple of years. Which city do you think will separate from the others in population?

[suburban george3]

So, I reckon cities should never annex; stagnate and shrivle?

No, that shouldn't be the case. But uncontrolled, poorly planned annexation can hurt a city more than help it. A city can be stagnate and shriveling regardless of annexation plans.