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Alexander County approves rezoning to allow single‑wide home near family cemetery
Summary
The board approved rezoning case RZ‑25‑05 to change a 1.46‑acre parcel from Office/Institutional (OI) to Residential Rural 3 (R3), allowing a single‑wide home for a family member; staff said state statutes protect family access to an on‑site mid‑1800s cemetery but do not impose maintenance obligations.
The Alexander County Board of Commissioners voted Jan. 5 to rezone a 1.46‑acre parcel on Lackey Mountain Road from OI (Office/Institutional) to R3 (Residential Rural 3), allowing a single‑wide manufactured home for the owner’s daughter. Planning Director Patrick Creech said the parcel’s OI designation was tied to a family cemetery dating to the mid‑1800s and that the Planning Board found the rezoning consistent with the comprehensive plan and the county’s land development code.
Creech told commissioners the Planning Board recommended approval and staff did not anticipate negative impacts to adjacent property owners. “Family cemeteries are common in residential zones,” he said, and noted that if rezoned and occupied the property owner would have to allow access to family members under state statutes while no specific maintenance mandate was identified.
During questions, a commissioner asked whether cemeteries are required to be maintained “in perpetuity.” Creech responded there are state statutes related to family access but that he was not aware of a specific state maintenance requirement; he added the cemetery on the parcel is currently in disrepair and that occupation of the property by a resident could increase preservation.
After a brief public hearing with no speakers, a commissioner moved to approve RZ‑25‑05; the motion was seconded and carried.
