Union County planning board recommends denial of Garcia rezoning for tow-truck parking in Hemby Bridge

The Union County Planning Board voted Dec. 16 to recommend denial of conditional rezoning petition CZ2025-CZ-005, a request to rezone a little more than 2 acres in the Town of Hemby Bridge from R-20 to light industrial for a tow-truck impound/parking use. Planning staff told the board the application includes a site plan and conditions limiting activity to short-term vehicle storage and prohibiting repair or a junkyard.

Planning staff said recent tree clearing on the property prompted a tree-mitigation condition requiring replacement at 125% for trees 12 inches in diameter or greater and noted a five-year vesting period would apply to development rights. "So, our recommendation is to deny the rezoning," staff told the board, citing inconsistency with some adopted plans and concern about proximity to single-family neighborhoods.

Staff described the site context: the parcel sits inside Hemby Bridge with access on Faith Church Road and Secret Shortcut, and traffic counts on Secret Shortcut approach nearly 10,000 vehicles. Staff also said sidewalks are required along the site's frontage and that neighboring jurisdictions—Hemby Bridge, Indian Trail and Lake Park—submitted opposition. Public outreach included two community meetings (one Nov. 26 with one attendee, a second Dec. 8 with 13 attendees) and about two dozen written emails opposing the rezoning.

The applicant and family members told the board they intended the site primarily as parking for the operator's tow trucks. The applicant's daughter said her father "has a towing company" and wanted to "replant around ... for privacy" and that the lot would be "just for their personal use." The operator told the board the site would be used to park his own tow trucks and estimated he owned roughly four to five trucks; he said he does not perform police impounds and that vehicles are generally taken to auctions or repair shops promptly.

Board members pressed for clarity about whether the property would operate as a short-term impound yard or as a de facto business parking lot, and about enforcement of conditions that would distinguish employee or owner vehicles from impounded cars. One member summarized the distinction: "An impound yard is impounding vehicles that you've towed," and asked whether the conditional language matched the company's actual business plan.

After discussion, a motion to adopt staff's advisory recommendation of denial was moved and seconded; the board voted by voice and the motion passed. The vote was advisory only; planning staff told the applicants the case will proceed to a public hearing before the Board of Commissioners on Jan. 12, when the commissioners will make the final decision. Staff also said rezoning signs would be posted on the property before the public hearing.

The board's recommendation cited three primary concerns raised during the meeting and in written comments: (1) trees recently removed from the site and whether mitigation and any statutory withholding of permits would adequately address that impact, (2) inconsistency between the applicant's proposed light-industrial/impound use and some adopted land-use designations for the area, and (3) potential safety and property-value impacts from truck traffic adjacent to residential neighborhoods.

Planning staff also introduced an incoming zoning official, John Ware of the Western Piedmont Council of Governments, who will overlap with the outgoing planner during a transition in January.

The Planning Board adjourned after brief additional comments. The rezoning petition CZ2025-CZ-005 will next be heard by the Union County Board of Commissioners at a Jan. 12 public hearing.