Carroll County OKs rezoning for utility contractor yard on Bridal Mount Zion Road

Michelle Morgan, chairman of the Carroll County Board of Commissioners, on Sept. 2 approved a rezoning request to allow a utility contractor to base trucks and equipment at 2130 Bridal Mount Zion Road.

The board voted 7-0 to rezone 2.11 acres from agricultural to commercial for the owner-applicant, Jody Bennett, with a condition limiting the site's use to Bennett's business and requiring any different commercial use to return to the board for approval.

The decision implements a Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation to approve the request with that same stipulation. Ben Skipper, director of community development, told the board the planning commission unanimously recommended approval and explained the condition is intended to prevent the parcel becoming an open truck-storage lot for multiple businesses.

Bennett told the board he has run his contractor business from the property for about four to five years and that he uses the site to park and store utility trucks. "We park bucket trucks, utility trucks, build power lines. We're a contract of Carroll EMC," Bennett said. He estimated that 12 to 15 vehicles may be at the site at times, that many vehicles are on the road during the day and that the location is not intended as a commercial truck stop.

Commissioners asked about lighting, traffic and whether growth of the business could change the site's impacts. Skipper said county codes had received no complaints from adjoining property owners about traffic. Board members said the stipulation limits the permitted use to the current business but does not, by itself, cap the number of vehicles that could be parked there; any substantial change would have to come back for review.

The board's motion passed 7-0. The rezoning is recorded as Z-25-0801; the Planning and Zoning approval included the specific condition that any use other than what was requested must return to the board for review.