Moore County Planning Board recommends approval of conditional rezoning for self-storage site; forwards to commissioners

The Moore County Planning Board voted to recommend approval of a conditional rezoning that would allow a 116-unit mini-warehouse self-storage facility on an approximately 2.382-acre parcel on Lehman Road and adopted a land-use-plan consistency statement at its final meeting of 2024.

Planning staff presented the request as a rezoning from Rural Agricultural (RA) to Neighborhood Business conditional zoning (B1CZ). Ruth Peterson, identified in the transcript as planning staff, described the site as wooded with no installed driveway, accessed by a recorded easement, and near NC Highway 705 and the town of Robbins’ extraterritorial jurisdiction. Peterson said the site plan shows a 20-foot Type 3 buffer to mitigate impacts on adjacent residences and asked the board to state whether the rezoning is consistent with the Moore County future land use map and whether it is reasonable and in the public interest.

Why it mattered: the board frames such decisions as advisory — the Planning Board makes recommendations to the Moore County Board of Commissioners, which holds final authority. The board adopted a consistency statement citing Goal/Recommendation 1.7 of the county’s land-use plan (supporting and promoting local businesses) and authorized the chairman to execute documents required by North Carolina General Statute 160D-604.

Applicant and public testimony: Linda Dunlap, the applicant, told the board she had considered building a house on the parcel but said the land “would not perk,” and that testing led her to seek an income-producing use for the property instead. Dunlap also told the board she consulted the manager of Keith’s Hardware, which operates storage units in the area, and said there is local demand.

Jacob Stevens, identified in the transcript as a manager at Keith Hardware, told the board: “The mini storages are consistently full, and we get calls daily,” saying customers from Robbins currently travel to Sanford or near the airport for storage. Walter Bridal, a nearby resident, said he had no objection to the project but raised infrastructure concerns: “My question was gonna be, well, are you gonna run big enough water line where you’re gonna make it accessible to the residents on this road?” The transcript records those questions but does not include staff responses that commit to extending water service or sprinkler requirements.

Board action and next steps: a board member (recorded in the transcript as Speaker 2) moved to recommend approval of the rezoning as described — from RA to B1CZ to construct a 116-unit self-storage facility owned by Linda Dunlap (deed books cited in the record). The motion was seconded (Mister McBodhern) and the chair announced the motion carried. The transcript records multiple “Aye” votes but does not give a named roll-call or numeric tally. Planning staff said the item will be forwarded to the Moore County Board of Commissioners; the call to public hearing is scheduled for January 7 and the public hearing for January 21. The Planning Board’s recommendation and the record will be available to the commissioners for their decision.

Details and uncertainties: the transcript contains inconsistent property references — early in the presentation the address is read as “21280 Lehman Road,” while the motion later references “1280 Lehman Road.” Because the record is internally inconsistent, the precise street number is not specified here. The transcript does provide parcel- and deed-citation details and lists the parcel size (approximately 2.382 acres) and the proposed unit count (116), plus deed book citations (Deed Book 4349, Page 119; Deed Book 6248, Page 408).

What the board did not resolve: the public raised questions about water infrastructure, including whether a sprinkler system or larger water line would be required and whether any line extension would benefit neighbors. The transcript records the questions but contains no binding commitment or specified funding/extension plan for water service. The Board’s action was a recommendation; the Board of Commissioners will make the final determination at the January hearing.

The Planning Board adjourned after routine department reports and previewed upcoming agenda items for early January.