Garner council refers 83-acre Rock Quarry rezoning to planning commission
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Summary
After staff and the applicants described an 82.94-acre tier 1 rezoning along Rock Quarry Road, Garner Town Council voted unanimously to refer CZ24-006 to the planning commission for deeper review of conditions, traffic and fiscal impacts.
Mayor Gupton and the Garner Town Council on Tuesday referred a developer’s tier 1 rezoning request for roughly 82.94 acres along Rock Quarry Road and East Garner Road to the town’s planning commission for additional study.
Planner Thomas Veil presented CZ24-006 as a tier 1 conditional rezoning petition that would reclassify the site from rural agricultural to commercial mixed use conditional (CMX). Veil told the council the site sits near the future NC 540 interchange and noted recent AADT counts used in the traffic impact analysis: 6,586 daily trips on Rock Quarry Road and 11,616 on East Garner Road. Staff’s analysis found overall consistency with the comprehensive plan except for one strong non-support finding related to a nonresidential building type in the southern portion of the site.
Developer Daniel Smoot and his team described a three-pod concept with a written table of permitted uses and 19 proffered conditions addressing architecture, open space, stormwater and access. The team committed to substantial public amenities in its presentation, including “a public art installation” and a 40,000-square-foot public plaza, and said the proffers reserve at least 10 acres for nonresidential or mixed uses and roughly 27 acres of open space across the site.
Council members focused their questioning on the uncertainties inherent to a tier 1 approach, asking staff and the applicant to clarify worst-case and best-case buildouts and whether the conditions would be sufficiently prescriptive to avoid low-value uses. Mayor Pro Tem Dellinger asked for a fiscal analysis that compares the “lowest build out” against a higher-yield scenario so the town can understand tax and service impacts.
After public comment — including a trustee from Mount Moriah Church who urged attention to sewer needs — the council voted on a motion to refer CZ24-006 to the planning commission for more detailed consideration and recommended the commission receive a summary of public concerns and a focused fiscal/density analysis. The referral passed on a voice vote with no recorded opposition.
Next steps: the planning commission will consider the staff and applicant packet and return a recommendation to council on whether the rezoning should be approved, denied or returned with amendments.
