Planning board recommends rezoning at 1024 N.C. 87 to allow car-dealership expansion

The Rockingham County Planning Board voted unanimously May 12 to recommend that the Board of Commissioners approve a rezoning request for the parcel at 1024 N.C. Highway 87, forwarding the application to the commissioners for a final decision.

The rezoning would change the property’s designation from Residential-Agriculture and Residential-Protected to Neighborhood Commercial, allowing a nearby used-car business to expand onto the adjacent property. Adam Barr, planning staff, told the board the county’s 2021 land use plan lists neighborhood commercial as an appropriate district for the area and that the parcel sits at a mixed‑zoning intersection near Reidsville.

Board action is a recommendation only; the Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing before making the final decision. Adam Barr said the commissioners’ public hearing is likely in June 2025 and that additional notice will be sent to nearby property owners.

Why it matters: the change would permit a broader set of commercial uses at a location that currently mixes residential and low‑intensity commercial activity. Neighbors raised concerns about traffic, property values and potential environmental impacts to well water if vehicle maintenance occurs on site.

Staff and applicant statements

Adam Barr, Rockingham County planning staff, outlined the case (202507), identified the parcel by tax PIN and location, and noted the county’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) and the Rockingham County 2021 Land Use Plan guided the review. Barr said the requested Neighborhood Commercial zoning already exists at nearby corners and that the parcel is a “split‑zoned” lot the applicant wants consolidated.

Applicant Randy Walker described operating the dealership for two years and said the business has grown from about six to roughly 60 vehicles. Walker said he purchased the adjacent parcel “in hopes of expanding the inventory as well as maybe building something to provide, like, service for people around” and that his long‑term plans were not finalized. He told the board, “I don’t want it to look like just a little backyard lot,” and said he intends to make the site more aesthetically pleasing.

Public comment and concerns

Rose Creed, who lives across N.C. 87 in Wraysville, told the board the lot is “already directly in front of me” and said a new service building and more traffic would be detrimental to her property. She raised specific concerns about potential oil and fluid leaks because many neighbors use well water and said she believed the change would lower her property value. Barr and board members responded that site‑plan review and the technical review committee (TRC) would evaluate erosion control, drainage and other environmental protections if development proceeds.

Key planning and regulatory points

- The planning staff noted that rezoning is a legislative map change reviewed for reasonableness and consistency with North Carolina General Statute 160D, the county’s land use plan and the UDO; the planning board’s action is a recommendation to the Board of Commissioners. - If rezoned, an existing dwelling on the parcel could continue as a legally nonconforming residential use but could not be expanded; converting the structure to a commercial use would end that nonconforming status. - The UDO requires landscape buffering where commercial abuts residential; staff said existing vegetation on the parcel could count toward buffering but must be on the property itself.

Outcome and next steps

A board member moved and the board seconded a motion to recommend approval “based on the consistency and reasonableness determination statements included in the planning board agenda packet as may be amended during the rezoning process.” The motion passed unanimously. Barr advised the applicant and members of the public that the recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of Commissioners, which will hold a public hearing before a final vote; additional notice to interested parties will be mailed prior to that hearing.

For now, the rezoning stands only as a recommendation; no site work or building permits may proceed until the county’s further review and any required permitting are completed.