Harnett County commissioners table rezoning request for US 401 parcel after safety, traffic concerns

HARNETT COUNTY — The Harnett County Board of Commissioners on June 16 tabled a requested rezoning of a 1.96‑acre parcel along U.S. 401 North (case PLAN25050001), after residents and a commissioner raised persistent traffic and safety concerns and asked for confirmation about a planned traffic signal.

County planning staff and the applicant said the site is consistent with the county’s recently adopted future land use plan and recommended approval, but multiple residents and commissioners said the site’s configuration, proximity to a railroad and current traffic make commercial use unsafe without road improvements.

Planning staff told the board the property has public water but no public sewer and that the parcel is adjacent to a railroad right‑of‑way. Staff said traffic counts on the nearby segment of U.S. 401 are about 10,000 vehicles per day and about 11,000 on Piney Grove Rawls Road, and that the planning board voted 5–0 to recommend approval. Staff also reported the developer for a nearby subdivision plans to construct a traffic signal at Piney Grove Rawls Road and U.S. 401 in the fall of this year, per the developer’s representative.

Hunter Winstead, a land‑use attorney with Morning Star Law Group representing Blissful Properties and Realty LLC, told commissioners the parcel “is a perfect location” to serve as a commercial gateway into Harnett County and that the site is likely to host a “neighborhood retail, medium‑scale commercial operation” rather than a large development. Winstead said the applicant intends to place the curb cut on U.S. 401 and that detailed traffic engineering would be done at site‑plan review.

Multiple residents testified in opposition during the public hearing, telling the board the intersection is already hazardous. Donna Waldron, a nearby resident, said the intersection is “a fender bender zone” and described daily backups that block access to adjacent subdivisions. Margaret Morton, who commutes through the area, said the approach to the parcel is “a game of Frogger” because of turning movements, the railroad and existing traffic, and added that “even with a traffic light… it’s going to be dangerous.” Ross Baptist Church trustee Gary Smith told the board the church playground sits within roughly 100 yards of the property line.

One commissioner moved to deny the rezoning, and that motion failed. A second motion—to table the application until the board receives additional information about the traffic signal/stoplight timeline and related roadway changes—passed. The board did not adopt a site plan or change zoning at the June 16 meeting.

Next steps: the board directed staff to gather more information from NCDOT and the developer about the timing and design of the planned traffic signal, and to report back before the board takes a final vote.