The Garner Planning Commission voted 6–1 on August 11 to recommend approval of CZ25001, a tier‑1 conditional district rezoning for roughly 127.98 acres at 5100 Rainer Road known in staff materials as “Project Cougar.” The commission’s recommendation and draft consistency statement will be forwarded to Garner Town Council for a final decision.

Staff presented CZ25001 as a consolidation of existing Commercial Mixed Use (CMX), light industrial and a small heavy industrial conditional area into a single Light Industrial‑conditional zoning district, with one written condition that locates office uses near the northwest corner of the parcel. The application identifies 25 permitted uses out of 44 allowed in the LI conditional district and does not include a site‑specific master plan because the case is a tier‑1 rezoning submitted under confidentiality for an active economic recruitment effort.

Nate Gruber, the town’s economic development director, told the commission the recruitment is confidential but that council has met company representatives and is generally supportive. Gruber said the project is projected to create 692 permanent jobs over five years and more than $347,000,000 in private investment; he also said the average pay for the proposed jobs would be about $75,000 per year.

Tim Brent, a representative of the company under consideration, said the firm has operated more than 70 years and is seeking to relocate and consolidate operations into Garner; he emphasized the confidentiality common in competitive economic development recruitment. The applicant confirmed some economic incentives and any incentives would require separate council action.

The commission heard detail from the traffic consultant, Ronald Stevenson of DRMP, who said the Traffic Impact Analysis (conducted January 2025) modeled 351,000 square feet of general office and estimated roughly 3,460 new one‑way trips, with weekday AM and PM peak patterns presented in the TIA. Stevenson said multiple access points were included and that, based on current modeling, a signalized intersection was not identified as needed at this stage; final signal warrants and driveway configurations would be evaluated at the permitting and site‑plan stage.

Commissioners pressed the applicant and staff about potential truck traffic and shift operations, protection of a blue‑line stream on the site, and site circulation and walkability. The applicant said a jurisdictional determination from the state DEQ had been completed and that the initial phase would generally occupy the west side of the stream; a single, southern stream crossing was identified as the least impactful location if access to the eastern portion is needed in a later phase. Staff reiterated that site‑specific design elements (buffers, connections, and any required permits) would be addressed during site plan review and permitting.

Staff reported neighborhood outreach: 123 properties were notified and a neighborhood meeting on Nov. 18, 2024, at the Garner Senior Center drew four attendees. Staff’s consistency analysis referenced the 2023 Garner Forward Comprehensive Plan and the town’s Unified Development Ordinance (including Commercial Highway Overlay design standards) and concluded the request was generally consistent with the growth framework criteria while acknowledging mixed‑use and live‑work components were limited in the application.

Commissioner Bowen moved and another commissioner seconded to accept staff’s drafted consistency statement and recommend approval of CZ25001 to Town Council. The motion passed 6–1 (Aye: Shane Banks; Ralph Carson; Philip Jefferson; Gehan Hodges; Ben Mills; Michael Boyland. Nay: Mariah Bishop). The recommendation will be transmitted to Town Council for its findings of reasonableness and a final decision.

The commission’s discussion and the applicant’s presentation made clear that confidentiality has constrained the amount of site detail before the commission; staff and the applicant said more detailed information about site layout, potential mitigation measures, and any incentive terms would return for later review and council action as required.