Planning board recommends conditional rezoning for 72-unit tax-credit apartments off Southside Drive

The Town of Nashville Planning Board voted unanimously Feb. 25 to recommend approval of a conditional rezoning (CZDR202502) to allow up to 72 tax-credit rental apartments on roughly 11 acres off Southside Drive. The applicant is Carolina Statewide Development LLC, represented by Eastpoint Homes; Stocks Engineering’s Kevin Barnell presented engineering details.

Planning staff said the parcel is located in the town’s ETJ and is identified as high-density residential on the Town of Nashville 2021 Future Land Use Map. The application requests a residential conditional zoning district consistent with the comp plan’s high-density designation; staff documented mailed notice to approximately 78 property owners within a 500-foot radius and sign and legal advertisement requirements.

Kevin Barnell described the proposal as 72 tax-credit apartments with a one-, two- and three-bedroom mix and an on-site clubhouse, playground, and community amenities. “The development currently proposes 72 tax credit apartment units,” Barnell said. He explained tax-credit financing is regulated through the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency and that the units require tenants to meet income, background and credit checks.

Traffic estimates in the developer’s materials applied the Institute of Transportation Engineers’ trip generation rates and produced roughly 288 vehicle trips per day for the site (about four trips per unit), which staff and the applicant said is below the threshold that would require a full traffic study for the town. Barnell and the applicant said the site will include on-site stormwater controls and a fire hydrant and sprinkler system to meet fire and EMS access requirements.

Several nearby residents spoke at the public hearing. Concerns included that Southside Drive is a single point of ingress and egress, school bus pickup and child safety near existing stops, potential increases in traffic and parking, buffer width between new buildings and existing single-family yards, trash and property‑value impacts, and emergency access when power lines or trees block the road. One resident described two past incidents when a utility pole was struck on the same road.

Staff and the developer said the site will be stubbed to adjacent properties to enable future connections as neighboring tracts are developed; town staff said that while the current proposal uses the existing Southside Drive access, subsequent adjoining development could create multiple connections. The developer said the project would be set up with a vegetative buffer and that the town ordinance specifies buffer width and planting requirements; presentations referenced a 20‑ to 50‑foot buffer in different slides and staff said the ordinance determines final buffer dimensions at plan review.

The planning board motion that passed included five development conditions recorded in the staff packet: (1) the site must be developed per the approved site plan and applicable Town of Nashville zoning standards; (2) the property may be developed consistent with the R-6 high-density residential district standards; (3) the developer must obtain Town of Nashville permits (zoning, driveway, building/trade permits) and any Nash County permits required; (4) the developer must use the buffer screening required by the zoning ordinance for the use; and (5) substantial modifications to the approved site plan may require additional review by the Technical Review Committee, the Planning Board and Town Council. Staff also noted the applicant will record an affordability land-use restriction that caps rents for an initial 30-year period under the tax-credit program, with potential renewal through later rehabilitation credits.

After deliberation the board recommended approval and forwarded the conditional rezoning to Town Council; the council will hold a separate public hearing on March 4, 2025. Planning staff said TRC and county permitting will follow if the project advances.