Planning staff recommend downzoning 84.85-acre Wiggins Road tract to low‑intensity residential

Planning staff presented a rezoning request (RZ202411) for approximately 84.853 acres on Wiggins Road in Voting Ward 3 and recommended rezoning four parcels from legacy designations to Residential Low Intensity.

Erica Martin of the Planning and Community Development Department said the property is owned by John and Paige Meadows and Donald and Barbara Meadows and sits adjacent to Mooresville Business Park East. The 85-acre site carried a 2011 rezoning for a larger single-family development and later land-use changes related to the business park left remnant legacy districts, Martin said. Staff recommended downzoning the four parcels to Residential Low Intensity to create an appropriate transition between the industrial park and surrounding low-density rural areas.

Martin said Residential Low Intensity would allow either a low-density option of about one dwelling unit per acre because of Back Creek watershed constraints, or up to three dwelling units per acre with a cap of 30% impervious surface because of watershed restrictions. Martin and the planning board recommended approval.

Commissioners discussed the parcel’s single access point and development constraints; staff noted the site’s limited access and floodplain/creek areas make it unlikely to support high-density development and estimated the configuration effectively caps buildout at fewer than 100 houses under realistic access scenarios. The board did not take a final vote on the rezoning during the meeting; staff presented it for consideration.