Council approves voluntary annexation of 36-acre Cool Park Road property for proposed 394-lot subdivision

The Hickory City Council on June 3 approved a voluntary noncontiguous annexation of a 36.0-acre parcel at 3220 Cool Park Road NE owned by Century Community Southeast LLC, a city planning staffer said during a public hearing.

Planning Director Bridal Fraser told the council the property is in Ward 1 and currently has one single-family residence. The applicant has presented plans in various iterations for residential development; the current proposal reviewed by staff would allow up to 394 detached single-family lots in multiple phases. Fraser said the annexation was sought to gain access to public utilities and that staff found the request complied with applicable state annexation statutes and that adequate public services were available in sufficient quantities.

Fraser noted the property is split-zoned under existing county and planning designations: portions were listed as County R-20 and highway commercial in the county, and other areas were designated R-2 and R-3 or neighborhood commercial in city mapping. Staff recommended approval and answered council questions about the applicant’s local projects and readiness to move forward.

The council held a public hearing (no speakers) and then moved, seconded and approved the annexation unanimously.

The annexation will allow the applicant to connect to city water and sewer as the project advances through standard permitting and development-review steps. Planning staff did not set a development approval in the meeting; future site- and subdivision-level permits will follow the city’s review process.