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Commissioners table 43.2-acre Cleveland Road zoning request to Jan. 21 after questions about permitted uses and school proximity
Summary
A request to rezone a 43.2-acre tract on Cleveland Road to a general-business conditional district was tabled to Jan. 21 after commissioners and staff pressed the applicant for narrower permitted uses given the site's proximity to Westview Elementary and planned roadway projects.
The Johnston County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 6 voted to table until Jan. 21 a conditional-zoning request for a 43.2-acre tract on the 11,700 block of Cleveland Road (case 24-27). The applicant, a development group represented by Patrick Riley, sought to rezone the property from agricultural-residential to general business conditional to allow a commercial-flex complex or similar commercial uses.
Planning Director Braston Newton briefed the Board on the site and transportation context, noting the property sits in a Regional Mixed-Use place type and that Cleveland Road carries roughly 11,500 vehicles per day (2022 count). Newton said the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) includes a planned four-lane widening of Cleveland Road from NC 42 back to Barber Mill, with earliest construction estimates in the late 2020s, and that a proposed Cleveland Connector project remains in regional planning discussions.
Applicant Patrick Riley said the owners, who previously lost land to road widening, seek to position the remaining parcel for commercial use consistent with the county’s land-use plan and to attract businesses to Johnston County. He and his team described coordination with NCDOT and an existing traffic study conducted for speculative square-footage scenarios. Riley said no leases or tenant contracts were in place and that specific building footprints would come at a later phase.
Several commissioners expressed concern that the conditional zoning request left roughly 70 permitted general-business uses available and that the site shares an existing traffic signal with an elementary school across Cleveland Road. Commissioners asked the applicant to narrow the list of permitted uses or otherwise provide more detail before the Board approves low-level “blanket” general-business zoning that could allow unexpected uses in the future.
The applicant agreed to consider narrowing the permitted uses; he also said the team would remove at least one objectionable use (flea market) from consideration. After discussion, a motion to table the case to the Jan. 21 meeting passed by voice vote; the motion and second were recorded on the public transcript but no roll-call tally was given.
Why it matters: The parcel is at a major corridor and could change traffic patterns, service mix and land use near a school and planned transportation improvements. Commissioners sought to balance commercial opportunity with community impacts by requiring a tighter set of agreed conditions before rezoning.
Next steps: Staff will coordinate with the applicant to narrow permitted uses and return the case for a Jan. 21 hearing; the Board’s stated goal is to reach a list of uses acceptable to the county and the applicant before a final legislative vote.
