Mount Airy council delays South Main rezoning after residents object; Wattersville parcel tabled pending boundary review

Mount Airy officials on May 14 decided not to move forward immediately with a set of rezonings recommended in the town's draft master plan after residents pressed the council in a packed joint work session to reconsider changes along South Main Street. Council members also tabled consideration of 302 Wattersville Road until the town clarifies property and municipal boundary lines.

The council president said council members were not comfortable voting on the South Main extended parcel recommendations as presented and instructed staff to omit those contested properties from the forthcoming rezoning ordinance; the group also agreed by consensus to include other items (Twin Arch Business Park parcel, an East Ridgeville Boulevard parcel and four South Main parcels) in the ordinance as drafted. The council directed staff to verify the town boundary for 302 Wattersville Road before any rezoning action on that parcel.

Why it matters: the rezonings are part of a 10-year master-plan update that the planning commission tied to economic goals including space for medical services, small businesses and other commercial growth. Residents argued the proposed changes would convert long-standing homes to commercial zoning, reduce property values and change neighborhood character; planning commissioners said the prescriptions were intended to create transitional commercial areas and add capacity the town lacks.

Council action and next steps

- Council members agreed not to include the contested South Main Street extended parcels in the next rezoning ordinance and to revisit the issue later, according to repeated statements during the meeting. That decision reflects a desire by multiple council members to review the set of requests together rather than proceed with the draft as published.

- The parcel listed as 302 Wattersville Road (parcel 1485 in the planning materials) was "tabled" for further staff work after town staff and the town attorney said the town needs to clarify whether the property lies fully inside town limits. As Town Attorney Tom said, the town "can only control the zoning to that portion of that property that is within the…