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Commissioners approve Ashton Drive rezoning despite neighborhood opposition
Summary
The board voted 5-0 to adopt Ordinance 2025-04 to rezone 1.15 acres on Ashton Drive from R-2 to general business for Evans Construction. The planning board had given a negative recommendation (6-1) after a nearby resident objected to commercial expansion into a residential area.
The Burke County Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 April 21 to rezone a 1.15-acre parcel on Ashton Drive from R-2 (residential) to general business (GB), allowing Evans Construction to use the tract for equipment parking and related operations.
Deputy county manager and planning director Alan Glines told the board the parcel sits adjacent to Evans Construction’s long‑established site and that the county’s strategic land-use plan supports limited commercial expansion to help local businesses. He also described a required 10‑foot planted perimeter buffer to separate commercial activity from adjacent residences if the rezoning is approved.
The application drew opposition from nearby resident Terry Swanson, who said the surrounding area is ‘‘nothing but houses’’ and warned that trucks entering and exiting the site could endanger children and erode the neighborhood’s residential character. ‘‘Please protect the community and let it grow as a community, not as a business,’’ she told commissioners.
Mickey Evans, representing Evans Construction, said the company has been at the current location for 55 years and that the parcel change would not increase traffic. ‘‘We are requesting to rezone the property we purchased next to us to park just to park our equipment,’’ Evans said, adding he collected petitions and signatures from neighboring property owners, including several who support the rezoning.
The county planning board considered the application at its February meeting and issued a negative recommendation, 6-1, citing a neighbor’s concerns. Commissioners considered those objections during the public hearing but concluded the rezoning was appropriate; the board’s motion finding the request ‘‘reasonable and in the public interest’’ passed 5-0.
The approved rezoning requires the applicant to provide the county’s perimeter landscape buffer—typically a 10‑foot strip planted with evergreens—to mitigate impacts on adjoining residential lots. Planning staff said the buffer must be maintained on the rezoned parcel.
Commissioners and staff discussed options such as conditional zoning to limit hours or uses, but the motion adopted was a straight rezoning with buffer requirements; planning staff will implement the ordinance and monitor compliance.
