Garner council approves special‑use permit for 236,000‑sq‑ft industrial building on Guy Road

The Garner Town Council unanimously approved a special‑use permit (SUP SP24017) on May 6 for a 236,000‑square‑foot industrial warehouse proposed on a 33‑acre site on Guy Road, just south of U.S. 70.

Planning staff presentation and applicant testimony described site constraints and mitigation measures intended to limit impacts on nearby residential areas. Planning staff noted that wetlands and riparian buffers occupy the eastern and southern portions of the parcel, which restricted development to the northwest portion of the site. The applicant’s site plan shows roughly 17 acres of disturbance, about 11 acres of impervious surface and approximately 1.7 acres of dedicated open space. The project preserves about 12 acres of tree canopy (roughly 33% of the site), staff said.

Taylor Hollingshead, the project’s land‑development manager, told the council the plan was revised through town review and neighborhood meetings and complies with the zoning conditions the council adopted with the rezoning. Hollingshead said the design “provides effective buffering and appropriate transitions to the residential uses to the south of our property.”

Traffic analysis prepared for the applicant estimated roughly 940 daily trips for the full development and a modest peak‑hour impact (about 45 inbound peak‑hour trips in the morning and 65 outbound in the evening). Traffic consultant Josh Ranke said the plan incorporates NCDOT and town requirements, including right‑of‑way dedication, half‑street widening, added sidewalk, and turn‑lane improvements; the north driveway will be restricted to right‑out for general traffic while still allowing emergency‑vehicle access.

Additional mitigation measures include increasing the building setback from Guy Road to 50 feet, lowering building height to 46 feet (below an earlier 50‑foot limit), supplemental landscaping where feasible around wetland constraints, a screen wall to block the truck court from the south, and shielded, lower‑height lighting on the southern end of the site. The plan also requires a nitrogen offset payment and formal stormwater and maintenance agreements.

The applicant presented a commercial appraisal and paired‑sales analyses showing no measurable difference in price per square foot for homes adjacent to similar industrial parks in Garner; appraiser Hunter Howell concluded the proposed development would not “substantially injure the value of adjoining or abutting property.”

Attorney Mark Frederick, representing the applicant, asked the council to accept site plans, the traffic study and other materials into the record as competent evidence. After staff and the applicant’s experts completed testimony, no members of the public had signed up to speak; the council closed the hearing and approved the permit on a unanimous voice vote. Councilmember Vance moved to approve SUP SP24017 with the seven site‑specific conditions recommended by the Technical Review Committee; Councilmember Matthews seconded the motion.