Garner planning commission recommends approval of rezoning for Yergen Park

The Town of Garner Planning Commission voted 7-0 on Jan. 13 to recommend approval of CZ-24-004, a tier 1 conditional district rezoning request for Yergen Park that would rezone about 72 acres along East Garner Road from R-4 and rural agricultural to Commercial Mixed Use Conditional.

Staff presented the request as a tier 1 rezoning, noting that a site-specific master plan is not part of the application and that the town retained control of the site through a deed restriction requiring the property be developed as a park except for about five acres around the historic homestead. Thomas Watkins, planning staff, told the commission the majority of the site is intended to remain open space and the commercial uses are secondary and limited by conditions proffered with the rezoning.

Parks and Recreation staff described the rationale for the CMX district and the rezoning conditions. "The CMX District does require a healthy buffer, so this is our opportunity to kind of lock ourselves into being a good neighbor to the residential development," said Matt Beard, parks and greenways planning manager. Beard and Lisa Rodriguez, senior engineering project manager, said the applicant is offering a narrowed list of permitted uses (17 of 62 allowed in CMX) and three written conditions: a restricted permitted-use table; lighting for outdoor athletic and recreational uses limited to a maximum mounting height of 90 feet and extinguished by 11 p.m. on regular days (midnight for special tournament days); and an emergency-only gated exit connecting to the Eagle Rare Lane stub.

Staff reported the parcel contains the historic Yergen Homestead and the Dupree House and lies within the Commercial Highway Overlay district and mostly within the community activity center near downtown. A neighborhood meeting in June notified 270 properties and drew six attendees. In the staff analysis of 15 growth-framework criteria, staff found 12 strongly consistent with the comprehensive plan, one modestly inconsistent and two strongly inconsistent; the strongest inconsistency related to applying CMX to an open-space typology, but staff wrote that deed restrictions and narrowly proffered uses mitigate that concern.

Commissioners and members of the public asked about tree sizes for buffers, food-truck utility connections, traffic and sight-lines on East Garner Road, stormwater educational signage, security cameras and phased construction. Parks staff said phase 1 construction is underway and phases 2 and 3 will be evaluated later; the plan includes 2 electrical pedestals and one water spigot designated for food-truck use and frontage improvements on East Garner Road that include half-width widening and a 10-foot multi-use path.

A resident, Rex Whaley of Pineway Street, asked how spectator seating and circulation would be handled during tournaments; Beard said four sets of bleachers are included and that lawn seating and a viewing terrace are part of the design. Commissioners also requested more picnic tables and benches in phase 1.

Ralph Carson moved that the commission accept the draft consistency statement and recommend approval to Town Council; the motion passed unanimously. The rezoning now moves to Garner Town Council for a decision on reasonableness and final approval.

Notes: This recommendation is for a tier 1 conditional rezoning; a master plan or site-specific entitlements will be considered later if required by future approvals.