Harnett County commissioners table rezoning request for 1.96-acre parcel on US 401 pending traffic signal and safety data

The Harnett County Board of Commissioners on June 16 tabled a request to rezone a roughly 1.96-acre parcel along U.S. 401 in Hector's Creek Township from RA-40 to commercial, directing staff to gather more information about a planned traffic signal and safety improvements before deciding.

The measure matters because the property sits at a busy intersection with a nearby railroad and existing congestion on U.S. 401; commissioners and speakers said additional engineering and timing information about a planned traffic signal at Piney Grove Road and U.S. 401 are needed to judge public safety.

Planning staff told the board the parcel is currently zoned RA-40 and lies within the county’s recently adopted future land use map’s commercial/mixed-use corridor. The staff presentation noted public water is available but public sewer is not and that the site “will have to rely on private septic for waste disposal.” Staff records show the planning board voted 5-0 to recommend approval; staff also reported two residents attended the planning-board meeting in opposition, citing traffic and safety concerns.

The applicant, land-use attorney Hunter Winstead of Morning Star Law Group, representing Blissful Realty, told commissioners the site is “a requested rezoning from the RA 40 zoning district to the commercial zoning district,” and argued the parcel is appropriate for medium-scale neighborhood retail that would serve drivers on U.S. 401 and nearby residents. Winstead said the section of U.S. 401 near the site carries about 10,000 daily trips and Piney Grove/Ross Road about 11,000 daily trips, and that a traffic signal at Piney Grove and U.S. 401 is planned for this fall by a nearby developer.

Multiple nearby residents opposed the rezoning at the public hearing, citing intersection congestion, crash history and the adjacent railroad. Donna Waldron said the intersection is “a fender bender zone” and described daily backups that make turning into nearby subdivisions difficult. Margaret Morton, who commutes the corridor, told commissioners traffic movements at the site create a “game of Frogger” for drivers and called the location “very hazardous.” Tanya White Anderson said the site is “so narrow” and worried about ingress/egress and parking. Gary Smith, a Ross Baptist Church deacon whose church property borders the site, said the church playground would be “within, I would say, 100 yards of the property line” and asked the board to consider safety and emergency access. Larry Mitchell raised concerns about the railroad and emergency-vehicle access.

During deliberations a commissioner moved to deny the rezoning; that motion did not carry. The board later voted to table the request and directed staff to return with additional information about the status and timeline for the traffic signal, traffic engineering, and other safety measures before taking a final vote.

The commission did not adopt or deny the rezoning at the June 16 meeting; the item will return after staff provides the requested traffic and safety updates.

For now, the county’s planning record remains that the planning board recommended approval 5-0 and the applicant’s conceptual materials indicate curb access would be on U.S. 401 and that final traffic engineering would be completed at site-plan stage.

The board’s action preserves time for further study of traffic signals, turn lanes and DOT requirements before any change to the parcel’s zoning.

Next steps: staff will report back with engineering and NCDOT information about the Piney Grove–U.S. 401 signal timeline and any required right-of-way or turn-lane work before the commissioners consider a final vote.