Garner planning commission recommends approval for Renmore Pines rezoning, 87-home development

The Garner Planning Commission on Tuesday voted 7-0 to recommend that the Town Council approve CZMP240045828, known as Renmore Pines, a rezoning request to change 25.68 acres in the town's extraterritorial jurisdiction from R-2 (low-density single-family) to R-8 conditional allowing up to 87 dwelling units (75 single-family detached homes and 12 townhomes).

The recommendation follows staff and applicant presentations and public outreach; the commission's motion directs staff to forward a consistency finding and recommendation to the Town Council for a final decision. Planning Commissioner Michael Boylan made the motion and Commissioner Ralph Carson seconded; Commissioners Mariah Bishop, Ralph Carson, Philip Jefferson, Gehan Hodges, Ben Mills, Sherry Phillips and Michael Boylan all voted "aye."

Why it matters: The proposal would add new housing to southeast Garner in an area transitioning from rural agriculture to suburban development and is sited inside the Lower Swift Creek Conservation Overlay District and the town's extraterritorial jurisdiction. The developer and staff framed the rezoning as consistent with the town's growth framework and neighborhood typology while attaching conditions to limit uses and require on-site design and environmental protections.

Key facts: The applicant proposes a maximum of 87 units on two parcels at the northeast corner of New Bethel Church Road and Clifford Road. The plan shows four building types: 60-foot wide lots, two 45-foot wide single-family products (front- and rear-loaded), and 12 townhome lots (26-foot wide, front-loaded). Staff and the applicant say the project provides just over three acres of active open space and preserves riparian and conservation buffers required by the Lower Swift Creek overlay. The site will connect to an…