Neighbors press board to deny Park Drive rezoning over repeated flooding and safety fears; applicant withdraws to refile conditionally

Neighbors of Park Drive told the Pittsboro Board of Commissioners on Oct. 13 that rezoning 102 Park Drive from R-12 (medium residential) to C-2 (highway business) would worsen persistent flooding, increase traffic and reduce neighborhood safety.

Multiple residents recounted recent storm damage on Park Drive and nearby Oakwood Drive, saying the area floods regularly and that a commercial rezoning would add impervious surface and traffic that would increase downstream flood risk. "By the way, this is not the first time that Park Drive flooded," one resident said, describing damage to retaining walls and crawlspaces during recent heavy rains. Another speaker said mandatory flood insurance and higher homeowner costs already burden residents in the floodplain.

Town staff noted that the parcel adjoins existing C-2 zoning at Alpha Center and that the staff report recommended approval partly because of that adjacency. Commissioners and residents pushed back on that rationale and on the legal limits of a straight C-2 zoning: unlike a conditional rezoning, a straight C-2 approval cannot include site-specific conditions to bar certain uses that neighbors find incompatible (for example, adult establishments or tire recapping were listed among C-2 uses in the staff packet).

The applicant’s representative argued C-2 was appropriate for this corridor given planned NCDOT Hillsborough Street improvements (widening and drainage work) and said the owner would coordinate with DOT and the town on stormwater solutions and pedestrian improvements. The applicant also proposed accessing new development through the adjacent Alpha Center to avoid stream crossings.

After extended discussion — and amid conflicting motions about denial and procedure — the applicant announced a verbal withdrawal of the straight C-2 application and indicated plans to refile as a conditional rezoning to allow conditions to be negotiated with the town. Board members noted the UDO requires a written withdrawal and asked for a written statement from the applicant confirming the withdrawal.

What happens next: The applicant said it will return with a conditional rezoning application designed to include negotiated conditions (and to allow the board to require site-specific limitations). The board and staff asked for written confirmation of the withdrawal and said they would expect a conditional application to specify access, stormwater measures, and potential limitations on uses.

Quotes from the hearing: "Rezoning will exacerbate this problem," a Park Drive resident said of flooding, adding that flooding had damaged neighbors’ property and hampered emergency access during heavy rain.

"If you rezone to straight C-2 you cannot later impose conditions to bar specific uses," a commissioner said during debate, noting the practical difference between a straight rezoning and a conditional rezoning.