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Union County commissioners deny Garcia rezoning after staff, municipalities cite traffic and inconsistent land use
Summary
The board voted to deny rezoning petition CZ-2025-005 (Garcia), following a staff recommendation and objections from nearby municipalities over tree clearing, traffic and inconsistency with local land-use plans.
Union County commissioners voted Jan. 12 to deny a conditional rezoning request, CZ-2025-005 (Garcia), that would have changed a property at Faith Church and Secret Shortcut from R-20 to light industrial to allow a tow-impound yard.
Senior planner Bjorn Hansen told the board the property lies inside Hemby Bridge and that town staff and neighboring municipalities Indian Trail and Lake Park opposed the rezoning. He said trees had been cleared on the site "in the last 18," that the county's land-use map calls for commercial—not industrial—uses at the intersection and that increased industrial rezonings could increase congestion on nearby roads. "However, weighing the positives and the negatives, we recommend denial," Hansen said.
Hansen described public outreach that included two applicant-hosted meetings (one held the night before Thanksgiving and a later meeting attended by 13 residents) and more than 30 emailed public comments received by staff. Municipal comments cited traffic impacts, inconsistency with adopted plans and the fact that trees were removed before a building permit was issued.
During the meeting the chair recognized a motion to deny the rezoning and to adopt a consistency-and-reasonableness statement supporting denial. The board voted in favor of the motion; the chair called for those in favor to say "aye" and recorded no opposition.
The denial means the property will remain subject to the existing R-20 zoning. The applicant had the opportunity to respond during the public hearing but no speakers from the public who had signed up addressed the board on this petition at the meeting.
The county planning staff noted mitigation conditions in the staff report that would have required tree-mitigation coordination with the urban forester and a five-year vesting period for development rights if the rezoning had been approved. The board did not adopt such conditions because the motion before it was to deny the rezoning.
The county's planning staff and the land-use board had recommended denial at earlier review stages; commissioners said their concerns centered on compatibility with the county's land-use designations, traffic and proximity to large-lot residential uses.
The board moved on to other business without further action on the site.
