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Council amends land-use map to mixed use for former recording-studio site on NC 43
Summary
The council voted 5-0 to change the future land-use designation of a 4.937-acre parcel along NC 43 North from traditional neighborhood medium–high density to mixed use after owners said state environmental restrictions prevent residential use.
Greenville City Council on Oct. 9 approved an amendment to the city's Future Land Use and Character Map to change a 4.937-acre property along the northern right-of-way of NC 43 North from Traditional Neighborhood Medium-High (TNMH) to Mixed Use (MU). The change was requested by property owners Robert and James Forbes and is intended to allow redevelopment of a long-vacant building that formerly housed a recording studio.
Planner Chris Kelly told council the parcel sits about 500 feet east of MacGregor Downs Road and the future land-use map already recommends mixed use at the nearby intersection, transitioning to neighborhood residential further away. "The requested land use could generate a net increase of 54 trips per day on NC 43 North... The proposed land use could generate 108 trips per day, which is a net increase of 54 trips," Kelly said. The current zoning is RA-20.
Owners told the council they cannot pursue residential reuse because state environmental testing and a deed restriction prohibit residential uses (the owners said a restriction prevents installation of drinking water wells). "The state has declared that it cannot be residential due to some environmental restrictions," owner James Dillon Forbes said, describing historical uses dating back to a country store and later a recording studio.
Robert Forbes said the parcel was partitioned out of a larger farm sale when a buyer's environmental review found low levels of petroleum residue; the state later concluded no cleanup action was required but placed deed restrictions that bar residential use. "They put restrictions on the deed that no drinking water well could be there... the restriction further stated that it cannot be used for residential," Robert Forbes said.
Staff recommended approval, citing sustainable development practices and the potential to return a vacant building to productive use. The Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval unanimously on Sept. 16. The council adopted the map amendment 5-0 (motion by Councilmember Scully, second by Mayor Pro Tem Monica Daniels).
What happens next: the land-use map amendment is a prerequisite to any rezoning request; owners said they may seek a rezoning or redevelopment proposal later that would be reviewed through the standard planning process.
