Planning Commission recommends approval of rezoning at 5828 Fayetteville Road

The Garner Planning Commission on April 14 voted 6-0 to recommend approval of CZ24007, a tier 1 conditional district rezoning for 5828 Fayetteville Road that would change about 0.6 acre from Rural Agricultural to Light Industrial Conditional. The commission’s vote forwards the staff-drafted consistency statement and the rezoning recommendation to Garner Town Council for a final decision.

Planning staff (name not specified) told the commission the applicant is Flores Capital LLC; the property owner is Adelfo Flores. Staff described the request as a tier 1 conditional district rezoning for a small infill site on U.S. Highway 401 South near Fayetteville Road and said the applicant limited the permitted uses in the conditions to two categories (listed in the application packet). Staff said the parcel falls inside the Commercial Highway Overlay (CHO) and within the Swift Creek land management plan, which imposes impervious-surface limits.

The conditions proffered by the applicant and read into the record include: limiting impervious surface to 12 percent of the site (the applicant declined to use on-site stormwater capture that would otherwise allow up to 30 percent), counting a proposed building of roughly 1,600 square feet toward that limit; requiring at least 60 percent exterior materials of brick, stone or decorative scored masonry; installing a 28-square-foot covered awning and decorative light at the public entrance; providing an opaque screening buffer at least 22.5 feet wide along the north property line with plantings, berms and/or a fence designed to reach 6 feet in height; and a proposed bioswale and perforated drain along the west side of the property excavated about 2 feet and lined with gravel to tie into drainage toward Fayetteville Road and U.S. 401. Staff reported that 84 properties were notified and that a neighborhood meeting on Aug. 22 at the Garner Recreation Center drew eight attendees.

Applicant representative Esteban Renjifo said the owner’s intent is to build a small storage and flex building to support the owner’s existing supermarkets and restaurants in Garner and Raleigh, not a large distribution center. “It’s really a small building mainly because my uncle owns a lot of supermarkets and restaurants … he wants to have it for, like, a storage of small goods,” Renjifo said, adding the operation would not involve frequent large-truck deliveries and could use box trucks or pickup trucks for moves.

Commissioners asked about compatibility with adjacent single-family homes, pedestrian connections and stormwater maintenance. “We’re taking a rural zoning and making it light industrial immediately adjacent to single family homes,” Commissioner Ralph Carson said, expressing concern about changing the zoning near residences. Commissioners seeking more pedestrian connectivity were told that sidewalks or pedestrian facilities along 401 would likely be a North Carolina Department of Transportation project tied to future roadway work; staff said an internal pedestrian connection on the site could be considered by the applicant but that a sidewalk on 401 would not connect to existing infrastructure today.

Staff noted the application had originally proposed additional uses such as vehicle repair and later removed them after the first public hearing. Staff also said the revised conditions improved the consistency scores in the town’s growth framework analysis. The staff report and draft consistency statement are part of the meeting packet and detail the plan-policy analysis and the full list of proffered conditions.

The planning commission member who moved the motion identified the draft consistency statement as the commission’s recommendation and moved to recommend approval of CZ24007; Commissioner Jeehan Hodges seconded. The commission then voted 6–0 in favor (Mariah Bishop: aye; Ralph Carson: aye; Philip Jefferson: aye; Jeehan Hodges: aye; Sherry Phillips: aye; Michael Voyland: aye). The motion’s outcome directs the matter to Garner Town Council for its consideration of reasonableness and a final decision.

If Town Council approves the rezoning, the conditions proffered by the applicant would form part of the conditional zoning; if council denies it, the property would remain zoned Rural Agricultural. The staff report notes this was the second part of the public hearing (the initial hearing occurred Feb. 4) and includes full neighborhood meeting materials, the draft consistency statement and the proposed conditions for council review.