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Council tables proposed zoning map changes; schedules joint workshop with Planning Commission
Summary
After extended public comment and council debate about rezonings recommended in the town's 2023 master plan, the Mount Airy Town Council voted to table Ordinance 2025-3 and to hold a joint workshop with the Planning Commission to review the proposed changes and related community concerns before any legislative rezoning.
The Mount Airy Town Council voted April 7 to table Ordinance 2025-3, a proposed comprehensive set of zoning-map amendments recommended in the town’s 2023 master plan, and scheduled a joint council–Planning Commission workshop to review disputed items.
Council members and residents debated several clusters of proposed rezonings along South Main Street and other corridors. Critics at the public hearing warned that rezoning multiple properties to commercial classifications could push commercial uses deeper into established residential neighborhoods and change the character of the town’s southern gateway. Supporters said the recommended designations were part of planning work done during the master plan process and were intended to provide space for services and future commercial needs.
Councilmember Demoter and other members said they wanted a focused, time‑limited workshop to address the properties listed in the ordinance rather than reopening the entire master plan. The mayor and the planning commission vice chair, Martina Hadley, said the commission sought clarity and public engagement for property owners directly affected by the proposal.
The council instructed staff to notify property owners in the ordinance and adjoining neighbors about the workshop; the group agreed to target a date in May so the review would not be protracted. The notice list will include owners of parcels named in the ordinance and abutting properties; staff noted assembling the mailing list and cost of notification will require a short administrative lead time.
Council members emphasized the workshop should focus only on the parcels and zones in Ordinance 2025-3 rather than reopen the full master-plan process. The motion to table was seconded and passed by voice vote.
What’s next: staff will coordinate a workshop date in May and notify affected property owners and immediate neighbors. The council said it might consider piecemeal ordinances afterward (rezoning subsets of properties) depending on workshop outcomes.
