Cumberland County approves a slate of rezonings, including large McCormick tracts and conditional industrial site

CUMBERLAND COUNTY, N.C. — The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on Nov. 17 approved a package of zoning changes that reshaped development expectations across several parts of the county, including multi-hundred–acre approvals for McCormick Farms and a conditional light-industrial rezoning for a food-production operation.

Planner Rose Howard outlined the evening’s land-use docket, which included a mix of rezonings to agricultural and residential districts across the county and at least one conditional industrial request. ‘‘Staff recommended approval’’ of many of the applications as consistent with the county’s area plans, Howard said during presentations.

The board voted to deny one applicant’s original request to rezone a Ramsey Street property from A1 to R30A but approved an alternate compromise, R40A, after the property owner, James Brown, told the board he was amenable to the lower-density alternative. Commissioner Patel moved the alternate approval; the motion was approved.

Multiple contiguous parcels owned by the McCormick family were rezoned across three separate agenda items. For parcels totaling hundreds of acres near the Cape Fear River, agent Scott Flowers described the family’s aim to ‘‘keep this property rural, agricultural, for their family to use for many, many years to come.’’ The board approved those rezonings; one of the large McCormick items (a roughly 725-acre filing) drew a recorded dissent from Commissioner Adams, who said he was concerned about removing some conservancy (CD) designations that buffer the river. The transcript records five commissioners voting in favor and one in opposition on that item.

The board also approved a conditional M1P-CZ zoning request for a 4.62-acre site owned by David Kimnitz to allow a home-based food processing and wholesale operation. Howard said the site sits in ‘‘the middle of a 200-acre tract’’ and is roughly 1,500 to 2,000 feet from the nearest residence; the submitted conditional zoning included a site plan and a provision that expansion beyond 25,000 square feet would require a return to the board. Commissioner Sherwin Jones moved approval.

Other approvals on the zoning docket included smaller residential-to-commercial conversions, a used-car–dealer request, and a two-lot residential subdivision approval. For several cases planning staff noted hydric soils and absence of sewer infrastructure as constraints; in at least one instance staff and the planning board recommended a less-dense alternative to reflect those constraints.

What’s next: The approved zoning actions will be reflected in county records; conditional rezonings such as the Kimnitz M1P-CZ carry site-plan conditions that will guide future permitting and any expansion beyond set thresholds.

The board considered these rezoning items as a package during its regular meeting and recorded motions and votes for each case individually on the record.