Johnston County approves conditional rezoning for Beacon Partners 300‑acre employment center

Jamie Schwadler, an attorney with Parker Poe representing Beacon Partners, presented a master plan for a 300‑acre life‑science and industrial park along Highway 70 and Gordon Road and asked the board to approve conditional rezoning to Industrial‑1 and Industrial‑2.

Schwadler told commissioners the concept plan divides the site into three development pods and limits building size and a 50‑foot maximum height. She said the applicant will triple the county’s standard perimeter buffer width (from about 15 feet to 50 feet) and double the required plantings to screen the project from nearby residences. Beacon Partners also pledged continued administrative oversight of concept‑plan modifications so that staff can ensure conformance with the commitments made to the board.

“Those two shaded areas are 61 acres that have been excluded from the proposed rezoning to create an enhanced natural buffer,” Schwadler said, describing the plan the company presented to neighbors and commissioners. She added that Beacon Partners would preserve open space and limit a set of uses that could generate noxious odors or heavy impacts.

On infrastructure, Schwadler said Beacon Partners would privately fund roughly $10,000,000 of sewer construction—extending sewer about one mile—to unlock service to portions of the property and surrounding areas. She estimated annual property tax revenue at stabilization at about $20,000,000; she described the figure as an estimate tied to the type and quality of tenants the project attracts.

During questioning, a commissioner pressed the applicant on a list of dozen broad uses that remained permitted under the application. Beacon representatives said they would strike eight of those uses (brick/tile/pottery manufacturing; cemeteries; concrete plant manufacturing; greenhouse/nurseries; group care facilities; monument sales/works; mining as a principal use; and sawmills/planing mills/wooden box factories) to respond to neighborhood concerns while retaining enough flexibility to attract research‑and‑development and other ‘sophisticated’ tenants.

Staff confirmed the planning board recommended approval with conditions; the applicant agreed to the staff conditions plus the additional restrictions described at the podium. A commissioner moved to adopt a statement of consistency and approve the rezoning request with the modified list of prohibited uses; a second was given and the board approved the rezoning by voice vote.

The board’s approval adopts the conditional zoning commitments shown in the applicant’s package, including the listed prohibited uses, the buffer enhancements, the 50‑foot maximum building height, and the administrative oversight approach. Staff will enforce the conditions through the county’s site‑plan and permitting reviews.

The decision moves the proposal forward under the county’s conditional zoning rules; future design and permitting steps (grading, final building footprints, utility design) remain subject to administrative and permitting review.