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Planning commission recommends rezoning of 810 West Fleming Drive for outdoor retail uses
Summary
The Morganton Planning and Zoning Commission voted March 13 to recommend that the City Council rezone 810 West Fleming Drive from Medium Intensity District to High Intensity District, a change that would permit larger retail operations and outdoor sales. The applicant said she plans a local retail nursery and expects to add jobs.
MORGANTON — The Planning and Zoning Commission on March 13 recommended the City Council rezone 810 West Fleming Drive (PIN 1793626900) from Medium Intensity District (MID) with corridor and water-protection overlays to High Intensity District (HID) with corridor and watershed protection overlays to allow larger commercial and outdoor retail uses.
Planning staff told the commission the property sits on West Fleming Drive near the Morganton Heights shopping center and has been designated on the city’s Imagine 2040 comprehensive land-use map for mixed commercial and residential use. Wendy, city planning staff, said the HID classification would allow outdoor retail and retail spaces larger than 3,000 square feet that MID does not permit.
The rezoning matter drew comment from the applicants, Christy Carswell, who said the parcel is vacant and they plan a locally owned retail nursery offering trees, shrubs, mulch and design services. "It's a small business, but it stays local," Carswell said, describing proposed hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and limited Saturday hours and estimating the business would employ three to five people when open.
Commissioners asked staff about development-stage requirements that would still apply if the zoning changes: sidewalks or in-lieu fees, screening for outdoor mulch storage, and standards that govern the specific layout at the time of a future development application. Wendy said sidewalk and other street-improvement obligations would be enforced at the development-application stage and that the corridor overlay applies up to 250 feet from the property edge where applicable.
Following the public hearing — during which Carswell said the existing small building would remain and the retail area would be fenced — a motion to recommend council approval was made and seconded. The commission voted in favor and the recommendation will go to the Morganton City Council for final consideration at its April 7 meeting.
The commission’s recommendation does not itself change development standards on the site; any future building, outdoor display of materials, truck loading or screening will be reviewed under the city’s ordinances when the applicants submit a development application.
