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Board allows CrossFit facility to remain under conditional zoning with occupancy cap after contentious hearing
Summary
After extensive public testimony both for and against, the board approved a conditional rezoning for a CrossFit facility at 16745 Buffalo Road with an amended application restricting uses to fitness/personal training and ancillary activities and an occupancy cap of 25 participants and staff; staff will prepare a statement of consistency for a subsequent meeting.
The county approved a conditional rezoning for a 1.14‑acre portion of a larger tract at 16745 Buffalo Road (case 25‑11) after a prolonged hearing that included neighborhood opposition and multiple supporters urging preservation of a long‑running fitness community.
Staff introduced the case and explained traffic counts on Buffalo Road (8,100 vehicles per day in a 2018 count) and that the parcel lies in a low‑density residential place type; the application was amended to pare back potential objectionable uses and focus on a fitness and health facility with limited ancillary retail and business office functions.
John Oglesby (CSCU Engineering) and property owner Paul White said the owner responded promptly to a county complaint and had held neighborhood meetings. The applicant’s team said they had revised the application to allow mainly personal training and associated small retail (for example, protein smoothies) and to remove broader commercial uses.
Operator Michelle Benedict described the operation as appointment‑based, trainer‑led small‑group classes, provided attendance averages from the last 90 days and emphasized community benefits such as programming for special‑needs clients through a partnership with Arc of North Carolina. Supporters—members and former members—testified that the gym provides strong community and mental‑health benefits; opponents raised concerns about spot commercial zoning in an agricultural‑residential area, roadside signage, traffic and the precedent created by rezoning.
Planning staff acknowledged that the Planning Board had previously recommended denial on an earlier application but said the current, amended application was the operative submittal. Commissioners debated whether conditional zoning could reconcile neighborhood concerns with the owner’s investments; several raised the permanent nature of zoning and the risk of future non‑fitness uses if conditions were not tight.
Board members negotiated additional conditions during deliberations. The board added a numeric limit — 25 participants and staff at any one time — to the list of conditions and confirmed that permitted uses would be limited to those listed in the amended application. A motion to adopt a statement of consistency and approve the conditional rezoning with the additional conditions carried by voice vote. Staff will prepare a formal statement of consistency at a subsequent meeting.
The board’s conditional approval is intended to allow the fitness operation to continue under clear, written limits while protecting neighbors from potential higher‑impact commercial uses in the future. The zoning record will reflect the restrictions discussed and approval is subject to follow‑up site‑plan and code enforcement checks.
