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Gaston County commissioners weigh three rezoning requests; two advance, one fails
Summary
The Gaston County Board of Commissioners held public hearings on three zoning map changes May 27. The board approved rezoning for two parcels and rejected one; decisions included conditions on future permits and raised questions about permissible uses and infrastructure.
The Gaston County Board of Commissioners on May 27 heard public testimony and staff presentations on three separate zoning map change requests affecting parcels in Belmont, Stanley and near High Shoals, approving two and rejecting one.
County planning staff described each application and recommended approval in all three cases. The board approved a request to rezone a 0.81-acre parcel at 352 Landers Chapel Road from R-1 to R-2 to reflect nearby housing patterns, and it approved a rezoning that would allow an existing mini-warehouse and open-air storage use to conform to commercial zoning standards on South Point Road. A separate rezoning request in Stanley to rezone a 1.09-acre parcel from R-1 to C-1 failed for lack of a second when the motion was offered and later failed when the board voted.
The applications were presented by Planning staff members Jamie Lizzie and Peyton Wiggins and by applicants and their representatives. Jamie Lizzie, Planning I in Building and Development Services, told the board the South Point Road parcel had operated as a trailer, RV and boat storage site and that rezoning to C-3 would bring the existing use into conformity and allow improvements that nonconforming status currently would not permit. Attorney John Russell, representing the South Point Road applicant, said rezoning would also allow the owner to invest in the deteriorating building.
Planning staff noted several constraints and contextual factors. The South Point Road parcel is served by City of Belmont water but is not annexed into the city and relies on a private septic system; the Gaston-Cleveland-Lincoln MPO lists planned (but unfunded) widening and bike facility recommendations along South Point Road. Wiggins told the board the Stanley site lies within a commercial pocket and that the rezoning sought to avoid split zoning after a recombination plat.
Commissioners pressed staff and applicants on the range of uses permitted under the requested districts. Commissioner Bob Hovis asked whether unusual or intensive uses—examples cited by the board included motels, correctional facilities and other uses that would concern adjacent residents—could appear without additional approvals. Planner Jamie Lizzie said many uses in higher-intensity districts have supplemental regulations, acreage or separation requirements, or require conditional use or special permits that would trigger additional review; some special permits would be heard by the board of adjustment rather than the county commission.
Public comment included nearby property owners who asked what specific businesses would occupy parcels if rezoned, raising concerns about property values and existing illegal uses nearby. Todd Calhoun, a Stanley resident, said he had trouble reaching the zoning office for answers and expressed opposition to unspecified commercial uses that might adjoin his property.
Votes and outcomes: - REZ-213 (South Point Road; Oldwell B3 LLC): Motion to approve made by Commissioner Bob Hovis, seconded by Commissioner Jim Bailey. After an initial counting confusion, the board recorded a 4–3 vote in favor; motion passed. The planning board had recommended approval 9–0. If approved, any C-3 uses will require standard permitting and any uses subject to supplemental regulations or conditional zoning would need separate approvals. - REZ-216 (Lucia River Bend Highway; GRY3 LLC): Motion to approve was made by Commissioner (recorded as) Kiger, but no second was offered; motion failed. - REZ-219 (Landers Chapel Road; Travis Brian Blake): Motion to approve made by Commissioner Alan Fraley, seconded by Commissioner Bob Hovis; the motion carried unanimously. Planning had recommended approval 9–0.
Commissioners and staff emphasized that rezoning does not automatically permit any particular business: many uses require separate zoning permits, supplemental regulation compliance, or conditional/special-use review. The board asked staff to provide consistency statements for the approved rezonings as required by statute.
Looking ahead, staff highlighted transportation and utility implications for the approved sites—the MPO’s long-range plans show potential right-of-way widening and bike facilities that are currently unfunded—and reiterated that new uses will require permitting and, in some cases, additional board or Board of Adjustment review.
