Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners approve small rezoning in Cotton Grove after hearing from New Jersey AME Zion Church about cemetery plots
Summary
A 0.61‑acre portion of a parcel in Cotton Grove was rezoned from Conditional Use — Limited Industrial (CULI) to RS (Low Intensity Residential). The county granted the downzoning after a public hearing during which New Jersey AME Zion Church said the strip includes historic graves dating to the early 1900s.
The Davidson County Board of Commissioners on June 23 approved a rezoning request by Golden Crescent Investment Corporation to change a 0.61‑acre portion of a property in Cotton Grove from CULI (Conditional Use — Limited Industrial) to RS (Low Intensity Residential).
The applicant’s representative said the parcel was a leftover flag piece from earlier neighborhood development and the adjacent solar‑farm rezoning; a prospective builder found graves within the 17‑foot access strip and the owner decided the lot was not suitable for building. The owner told staff the adjoining neighbor intends to purchase the rear portion and fold it into an existing yard.
At the public hearing, a representative and members of New Jersey AME Zion Church said the parcel contains church cemetery graves that predate the neighborhood and asked the county to ensure the gravesites would not be disturbed. Church speakers noted burials dated to the early 1900s and asked for continued protection of those graves.
Staff recommendation and board action: County planning staff recommended approval as a minor extension of an existing RS zoning pattern in the area and consistent with the Davidson County Land Development Plan. After the public hearing the board approved the rezoning and adopted a statement of consistency. Commissioners discussed that any future use affecting the cemetery would be subject to state rules and would return to the board if further rezoning that impacted the cemetery were proposed.
What was decided: The downzoning was approved at the June 23 meeting. Staff and the applicant said no road will be cut through the graves; the applicant said the neighbor intends to add the parcel to their yard. The rezoning aligns the parcel’s classification with the surrounding residential zoning and formalizes its use as non‑buildable yard space rather than industrial or commercial use.
