Council denies rezoning for 606 South Third Street; staff cited plan inconsistency

The Town of Smithfield council voted to deny a rezoning petition for 606 South Third Street after staff determined the requested Office/Institutional map amendment would be inconsistent with the comprehensive plan and difficult to develop in compliance with the Unified Development Ordinance.

Planning staff said the property is a 0.23‑acre (about 52.5‑ft wide) residential lot adjacent to Armstrong Law Firm and a nearby school. The OI district requires a 60‑foot minimum lot width, and staff noted the lot cannot accommodate required parking, buffer yards, stormwater management and setbacks without variances or a conditional rezoning that would lay out specific uses and site solutions.

At the council meeting, staff recommended denial or that the applicant pursue a conditional rezoning if the council wished to consider a constrained commercial/office use. No members of the public spoke in favor of the proposal at the hearing. A motion to deny the map amendment as inconsistent with the comprehensive plan passed by voice vote.

Council asked staff to reach out to the applicant to explain that a conditional rezoning with a site plan and demonstrated code compliance would be a more suitable path than a straight map amendment for this constrained lot. The denial was recorded as finding the amendment "not reasonable nor in the public interest" based on code consistency findings and the lot’s nonconforming dimensions.

The council’s action was limited to the map amendment request; no building permits or site work are authorized by the denial.