Johnston County approves conditional rezoning for Steven Sausage property to allow meat-packing uses

The Johnston County Board of Commissioners on March 3 approved a conditional rezoning that will allow meat-packing and related industrial uses on a 25.9-acre property on Steven Sausage Road in Smithfield Township.

Rasta Newton, Johnston County planning director, told the board the petition (case 24-30) would change zoning from agriculture-residential to an industrial conditional zoning district and that the parcel contains an existing meat-packing operation described in county records as a legal nonconforming use. Newton said staff and the planning board recommend approval and offered a statement of consistency for the board’s consideration.

The applicant, Sloan Stevens, said the family business already operates on the site and sought rezoning “to get the family business into conformity” and to prepare for any future, modest expansion. “I don’t have any immediate plans to do any large expansion,” Stevens told commissioners, adding that he agreed to the nine conditions in the staff report.

Newton described surrounding land uses as residential and agricultural and noted traffic on Steven Sausage Road at roughly 300 vehicles per day; the road does not appear on the county’s comprehensive transportation plan as needing improvements. A conceptual site plan and the set of nine conditions were included in the staff packet.

Commissioners voted by voice to adopt the staff consistency statement and approve the conditional rezoning with the conditions as discussed. The applicant was informed that a future site plan will be reviewed by planning staff and that substantial deviations from the conditional zone site plan could require the item to return to the board.

No individual roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript; the motion carried on a voice vote.