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Project Cougar: Garner staff describe tier 1 rezoning to light industrial; planning commission referral approved
Summary
The Project Cougar tier 1 conditional rezoning (CZ25001) would consolidate multiple zoning categories into a single light-industrial conditional district for a roughly 128-acre site off Reyna Road; staff recommended referral to the planning commission and described traffic analysis and use limitations.
Garner planning staff presented Project Cougar (case CZ25001), a tier 1 conditional rezoning application to reclassify roughly 127.98 acres near U.S. 70 and Greenfield Parkway to a single light-industrial conditional district.
Planner Thomas Roehl said the proposal would rezone land currently zoned commercial mixed use, light industrial and a small heavy-industrial conditional area to L-I-C 321 (light industrial conditional). Roehl said the site is bounded by U.S. 70, Greenfield Parkway and Reyna Road, includes small floodplain areas, and is adjacent to existing industrial facilities including distribution centers and manufacturing operations.
Roehl described two written conditions offered by the applicant: a permitted-use table that limits allowed uses to 25 of the 44 uses typically permitted in the district, and a condition that office uses be located in the northwest corner of the parcel. The applicant’s traffic impact analysis (TIA), prepared in January, used an assumed 351,000 square-feet of general office for trip generation. Staff summarized the TIA’s estimates including weekday morning peak hour volumes and the engineer’s recommendation for new access points and turn lanes. Roehl read the TIA peak-hour estimates: weekday morning peak of 432 trips in and 59 trips out; weekday evening peak of 80 trips in and 391 trips out.
Roehl said staff evaluated the request against the comprehensive plan and determined several criteria were strongly consistent (growth framework, development intensity), with one negative noted for lack of mixed uses. He said the site falls within regional employment and transit-oriented activity centers and that the traffic counts on U.S. 70 in 2024 were 45,242 average daily trips between Rainer and Greenville Parkway.
Council members asked clarifying questions about the applicant’s schematic plan and whether the TIA included potential outdoor storage or future layout options. The applicant’s traffic engineer confirmed the TIA accounted for the square-footage assumptions used for analysis. No members of the public signed up to speak.
The council voted unanimously to refer CZ25001 to the planning commission for detailed review and findings of reasonableness. The planning commission will return a recommendation to council for a final action on the rezoning; no final rezoning decision was made at this meeting.
