Goldsboro council approves conditional rezoning for 1.42-acre Berkeley Boulevard site

Goldsboro City Council on Feb. 17 approved a conditional rezoning for a 1.42-acre tract at the corner of North Berkeley Boulevard and Maplewood Drive to allow a multi-tenant commercial retail strip center, the council’s planning director said.

The rezoning from Office/Institutional (O&I) to Neighborhood Business Conditional Zoning passed unanimously after councilors noted changes the developer made following earlier public feedback. The approved conditions exclude bingo parlors, Internet cafes, sweepstakes facilities and electronic gaming operations from the site, and the developer removed a proposed driveway onto Maplewood Drive and fenced a proposed stormwater pond, planning director Mark Helmer told the council.

“The request is for a change in zoning for the subject property from office institution to neighborhood business for the construction of a multi tenant commercial retail strip center,” Helmer said during the council briefing. He described the revised site plan as moving the building closer to Berkeley Boulevard, aligning parking with adjacent centers and shifting more parking to the rear to improve circulation.

Why it matters

Council members and staff said the conditional zoning process allowed the city to shape the project to reduce neighborhood impacts while enabling development. The parcel’s current comprehensive land-use designation is mixed-use/medium-density residential; neighborhood business zoning is considered compatible with neighborhood-serving commercial uses but differs from the plan’s preferred categories.

What was decided

Councilman Roger Boyette moved to approve the conditional zoning application, including the revised site plan and the council’s consistency statement; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously. The approval is contingent on the applicant’s formal consent to the conditions recorded in the site plan and zoning documents.

Key details and commitments

- Parcel size: 1.42 acres. - Proposed primary use: multi-tenant commercial retail strip center; maximum building gross area in the neighborhood business district noted by staff is 24,000 square feet. - Excluded uses (self-imposed by applicant): bingo parlors, Internet cafes, sweepstakes facilities, electronic gaming operations. - Access and circulation: the developer removed the proposed driveway on Maplewood Drive; site access will be from Berkeley Boulevard with internal circulation and shared private driveways. - Site changes: building shifted closer to Berkeley, parking reconfigured (more parking to the rear), landscaped buffering to remain where practicable, fence proposed around stormwater pond. - Next steps: staff will forward the approved conditional site plan to the Technical Review Committee for administrative site-plan review; final administrative site-plan approval will follow verification that landscaping and screening meet ordinance standards at the time of certificate of occupancy.

Discussion and neighborhood concerns

Councilors debated balancing neighborhood preservation and economic development. Councilman White urged protections for long-standing residents’ investments; Boyette and others said the developer’s concessions — especially closing the Maplewood driveway — reduced neighborhood impacts and made the application acceptable. Helmer noted the comprehensive land-use plan is more than a decade old and that neighborhood business zoning was a corresponding, though not identical, zoning option to the plan’s mixed-use designation.

Quotes from the meeting

“This is a 1.42 acre tract of land owned by Wooten Development Company,” Helmer said in his briefing. “They’ve moved the structure further up towards the public right of way on Berkeley Boulevard, and they’ve basically aligned it with the adjacent existing retail center.”

“I would make a motion that we accept the recommendation of staff and planning commission and approve this item and the site plan as presented,” Councilman Roger Boyette said when moving approval.

Outcome and procedural notes

The motion to approve the conditional zoning application (CZ 11-24) and the revised site plan passed unanimously. Approval includes the council’s consistency statement and is contingent on the applicant consenting to the specified conditions. Site-plan compliance, landscaping adequacy, and any required driveway permits will be handled by staff and the Technical Review Committee before final administrative approvals.

What council directed next

Council and staff will record the applicant’s consent to the conditions and proceed with the administrative site-plan review. Staff emphasized that if the retained vegetation at the rear does not effectively screen the site at inspection, additional landscaping may be required prior to final approval.

This action concludes the CZ 11-24 item and clears the way for the developer to move toward construction planning, subject to the remaining administrative approvals and compliance checks.