Waynesville council rezones 185–187 West Marshall Street to align zoning with long‑standing storage use

The Town of Waynesville Town Council voted June 10 to rezone the southern parcel at 185–187 West Marshall Street from Walnut Street Neighborhood Residential Mixed‑Use Overlay to the Russ Avenue Regional Center designation, bringing two adjacent parcels owned by the same business into a single zoning category.

Staff said the applicant operates a self‑storage facility on two contiguous parcels: a smaller northern parcel already zoned for regional center commercial (about 0.59 acre) and a larger southern parcel (about 3.25 acres) zoned under the Walnut Street neighborhood residential overlay. Olga, the town’s development services director, told the council that the facility has operated as mini‑warehouses for roughly 40 years and that the rezoning would remove a nonconforming status that limits improvements such as lighting and reconfiguration.

The request was a legislative map amendment recommended by the planning board. Olga said staff and the planning board recommended approval because the property is adjacent to the existing regional center zoning, mixed‑use development and a railroad…