The New Hanover County Planning Board voted to recommend approval of a conditional B-1 rezoning that would allow a small grocery and a restaurant on a 0.39-acre lot at 2624 Castle Hayne Road.

The board approved staff-recommended conditions limiting uses to grocery, restaurant and general retail; requiring a minimum 5-foot public access easement along Castle Hayne Road; protecting a specimen live oak; screening the dumpster per the Unified Development Ordinance; prohibiting a drive-through; and amending the driveway location based on NCDOT feedback during Technical Review Committee (TRC) review. The board’s recommendation will go to the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners at a tentative November meeting.

The rezoning request came from applicant Sebastian Cardenas, who operates a small grocery just south of the subject site, and was presented by county planning staff. The property was conditionally rezoned to commercial in 2012 but remained undeveloped; the current request would update the parcel’s approvals and allow development consistent with the 2016 comprehensive plan’s “community mixed use” place type.

Board members and staff focused their discussion on site design and infrastructure. Several members said the concept plan appears tight for the proposed building footprint — staff said the combined grocery and restaurant calculations meet minimum parking requirements for the proposed uses but noted the plan is conceptual. One board member estimated the plan shows roughly 20–21 parking spaces and warned peak-hour parking demand could spill into adjacent lots if the layout is not adjusted.

County Engineer Tim Lowe told the board that lots in this area that predate the county’s stormwater ordinance typically have an allocation allowing up to 13,000 square feet of impervious area (10,000 square feet baseline plus a one-time 3,000-square-foot extension). Lowe said formal drainage plans and a drainage plan review will be required at permitting as part of the TRC process to ensure infill development does not block existing flow paths. He said the site’s drainage likely routes to the Castle Hayne Road corridor and the DOT right-of-way, based on available data, and that more detailed survey work will be required as the project advances.

Staff emphasized that buffers are not required between commercial districts, that the previously required 5-foot pedestrian easement remains a condition, and that TRC review could trigger minor administrative modifications or require applicants to justify deviations such as through a parking study. Staff also noted the applicant has revised the concept plan to meet current UDO requirements at the concept stage and that any engineering-level changes would emerge in TRC.

Applicant Sebastian Cardenas said he understood the TRC process and the potential for plan adjustments; he confirmed he wanted the board to proceed with a vote rather than request a continuance.

The board’s motion to recommend approval incorporated the staff conditions listed above. The transcript records the board approving the motion and indicating the item will move forward to the county commissioners; a detailed roll-call of individual member votes was not specified in the transcript excerpt.

The recommendation does not approve construction; if the county commissioners accept the board’s recommendation, the project will still undergo TRC and zoning compliance reviews and must meet all UDO standards and NCDOT access requirements as part of those processes.