Planning commission approves subdivision plat, recommends three rezoning requests to city council

Wilmington City Planning Commission on Tuesday, February 2025 approved a certificate of plat for a four‑lot commercial subdivision and voted to recommend that city council approve three separate rezoning requests affecting parcels along Rhomback Avenue and nearby corridors.

The actions, taken after staff presentations and a brief commission discussion about vehicle access, followed staff recommendations and included a strong note from the city engineer that cross‑access easements should be included as the projects proceed to site‑plan review.

The commission approved a certificate of plat for property owned by LT Land Development for Williams Farm 2, Section 1, a subdivision of four roughly 1‑acre parcels along Rhomback Avenue intended for suburban commercial uses. Staff said each new lot would connect to existing municipal water and sewer and that a newly constructed retention pond would handle on‑site drainage. The staff report noted the application did not propose additional curb cuts; city engineering guidance and state access‑spacing standards were discussed in the staff presentation.

Staff described relevant access spacing guidance cited in the application: when a barrier median exists, access points can be spaced as close as 300 feet; if no barrier median exists, a minimum spacing of 600 feet is commonly applied; the report also referenced example driveway spacings near 850 feet. The city engineer recommended the developer include cross‑access easements so the four lots could share a centralized driveway rather than each creating separate curb cuts. Despite that recommendation, the commission voted to approve the plat as presented while the staff report and engineer comments remain part of the record for site plan review.

Commissioners then considered three rezoning requests, each presented by Mary Moyer of Peel, Wilkin & Moyer Law Offices as agent for the applicants. The first rezoning request asked that a parcel owned by LT Land Development at the corner of Rhomback Avenue and Davis Drive be changed from light industrial to suburban commercial; staff recommended the change, citing compatibility with surrounding commercial zoning and alignment with the city's comprehensive plan.

The second request covered eight parcels totaling 136.57 acres (identified in the staff report as previously rezoned to light industrial on Oct. 1, 2024) and sought their rezoning from light industrial back to suburban neighborhood to reflect the comprehensive plan's single‑family residential future land use. Staff recommended approval given the surrounding neighborhood zoning and the comprehensive plan designation.

The third application, listed in the agenda as from G and L Development and totaling about 12.128 acres, was presented in the staff report with language that repeatedly described the parcel's history and the requested change; staff recommended approval and said the parcel's future land use in the comprehensive plan is single‑family residential. (The staff presentation included language that was internally inconsistent about the parcel's prior and requested zoning status; that inconsistency is reflected in the staff remarks and is noted in the record.)

All four formal items on the agenda — approval of the January minutes, the certificate of plat for Williams Farm 2 Section 1, and the three rezoning recommendations to city council — passed on voice/roll call votes recorded as unanimous among members present. Commissioners did not receive public comment on these items during the meeting, and discussion was limited primarily to questions about vehicle access and compliance with access‑management standards.

Planning staff recommended that each rezoning request move forward to city council; the commission's votes were recommendations, not final zoning approvals. The engineer's comments about cross‑access easements and the staff reminders about site‑plan review requirements were left on the record as requirements or expectations for the next stage of development review.

The commission adjourned after taking the votes and there were no further items on the agenda.