Northampton County hearing on Commerce Park rezoning draws residents’ objections; commissioners defer vote

Derek Bennett, the county’s economic development staff member who presented the proposal, outlined why planners recommended rezoning the Northampton County Commerce Park from light to heavy industrial and read the four county-owned parcels at issue — Parcel 0110068 (about 193 acres), Parcel 0110070 (about 37 acres), Parcel 0110482 (about 72 acres) and Parcel 0110483 (about 3 acres). Bennett told the board rezoning would expand permissible uses and make the site marketable to a broader set of manufacturers, while special-use items such as asphalt plants, airports, fertilizer manufacturing and other higher-impact operations would still require separate planning-board review and board approval.

The public hearing that followed drew extensive comment from residents who said past industrial activity, notably at Enviva, had already produced dust, noise and sleep disruption. One speaker who introduced his remarks as a question of trust opened his remarks by saying, "I wanna start speaking about trust," and described longstanding frustration with notice, enforcement and perceived health impacts near Lebanon Church Road. Several residents asked why notices were posted during a holiday period and urged the county to provide more time for community input.

Multiple commenters expressed environmental justice concerns and asked the county to require stronger community protections. "We are not against economic development, but we don't want things like this," said one resident during the hearing, summarizing a common theme. Another commenter described testing and soil work done as "due diligence" and said flagging on the site was part of standard site-preparation, not an indicator that a particular company had secured the land.

Planning staff and county staff responded with procedural clarifications: notices were published twice in the county newspaper (Dec. 20 and Dec. 27), consistent with the county zoning ordinance requirement for two successive weekly publications with the first appearance between 10 and 25 days before a hearing. Staff also emphasized that rezoning alone would not give any party the right to develop or sell the land without further public hearings or board approvals.

After the public comments, a commissioner moved to defer the rezoning decision to the board’s next meeting "to give more time so that we can get the full understanding of the concerns." The motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. The board did not approve rezoning at the Jan. 5 meeting and instructed staff to continue community engagement and bring additional information back to the commission.

Next steps: The board will revisit the Commerce Park rezoning at a subsequent meeting after staff compiles additional information and the public has more opportunity to engage.