Clayton — After some deliberation, the Town Council on Monday backed a shopping center on U.S. 70 Business and Shotwell Road.

Zimmer Development Co. of Wilmington and Plaza Development Co., Shotwell Road Partners and the Walthom Group, all of Clayton, plan to build the center on 111 acres. Their plans call for retail and office space, a bank, national chain restaurants and a home-improvement store.

However, some Clayton residents had worried about the plans.

Roy White has lived in West Main Street since 1974 when it used to be nothing more than a dirt road. The now-paved road backs up to the proposed center, slated to be under construction in a few months. Having more traffic coming through his neighborhood did not please White.

“Our homes and properties are very close to that street,” he said. “We are very concerned about the amount of traffic deteriorating the road further. It would easily impact our lives to have that much traffic coming through. We just have a lot of concerns we hope somebody would address.”

Mike Powell, a resident of Dogwood Forest subdivision, feared he would lose his privacy. His home faces the rear of the proposed center, which would be buffered by natural vegetation in the summer. But it is winter that leaves the Mulberry Road resident more likely to see delivery trucks and dumpsters from his backyard.

Councilman Alex Harding wanted to make sure the concerns of Powell and White were included in the developer’s plans. “I want to make sure that we do preserve the nearby residents' property when we do this,” he said. “They deserve that.”

Carolinas Distribution Center, a center with 1.1 million square feet of warehouse space, sits a half-mile north of the proposed site. In July, owner Crown West Realty brought a list of concerns for the council to review. Among the top picks were: Ring Road, an extension of Main Street, encroaches on a good portion of CDC’s employee driveway, the company said.

The question of where trucks would enter CDC has yet to be determined. Currently, trucks come from U.S. 70 Business and Shotwell Road, but could possibly have an opportunity to use Ring Road. The N.C. Department of Transportation recommends not having trucks on Ring Road, but if the town takes control of Ring Road, it will have the final say on what is and is not allowed on Ring Road.

Also, DOT does not want Ring Road to be fully signalized, said Clayton Planning Director Skip Browder. “It would be two turn lanes that you could turn off U.S. 70 into Road Ring,” he said. “There would be a light stopping traffic on westbound 70, but it would not affect eastbound 70.”

Developers wanted the council to approve the plans Monday to show the town’s commitment to the project for a home improvement store that is interested in being a tenant.

Some council members wanted Zimmer to agree to meet DOT’s recommendations, but the company was not ready to make a total commitment, its representative said. “We are not in a position to agree or disagree (with DOT),” Adam Tucker, project manager for Zimmer, said. “We are willing to work with DOT to get things where they need to be.”

Instead, Tucker wanted the council to approve the plan as presented with a condition that town staff, developers and DOT representatives met to hash out further designs on Ring Road. Council members granted Tucker’s request, but also added that staff must bring back to them a final design for the center.