Council approves Kmart-site rezoning on Western Boulevard after debate over tree buffer; vote 5–3
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Summary
The council approved a rezoning at the former Kmart site on Western Boulevard (5–3). Staff and the applicant offered a zoning condition requiring a 15-foot protective yard or equivalent distributed plantings (30 deciduous, 20 evergreen, 30 understory, 160 shrubs); some residents and environmental advocates urged retaining the full 25-foot SHOD2 buffer to protect canopy and stormwater functions.
The City Council on Jan. 6 approved a rezoning request for approximately 12 acres at the former Kmart site on Western Boulevard (zoning case Z-9254500), voting 5–3 after a lengthy public hearing focused on tree canopy, stormwater and the footprint of a Special Highway Overlay District (SHOD2).
Planning staff and the applicant described the updated zoning condition: when development includes residential uses, the developer must provide either a 15-foot-wide protective yard along the eastern property boundary (measured roughly 1,000 feet) planted to SHOD2 standards or distribute equivalent numbers of plantings across the site (30 deciduous trees, 20 evergreens, 30 understory trees and 160 shrubs). Staff measured the SHOD2 length conservatively at about 1,013 feet and concluded the offered numbers are close to SHOD2 requirements, but the options differ in the protected land area and location of canopy.
Speakers in support argued the redevelopment is needed to repurpose large surface parking, support transit-oriented development (the site is along the Western BRT corridor) and that similar SHOD modifications have been approved elsewhere. Opponents — including Parks Advisory Board and environmental advocates — urged retention of the full 25-foot-wide forested buffer to preserve canopy, mitigate runoff into Bushey Creek and protect downstream neighborhoods.
Council discussion weighed the tradeoffs between facilitating redevelopment on a long-blighted site and conserving a wider, contiguous forested buffer. Several councilors emphasized the public benefit of putting the site back into productive use and noted NCDOT has budgeted funds for future landscaping along the interchange, while others raised concerns about losing area and ecological function. The council adopted the rezoning and conditions with a 5–3 vote.
Why it matters: The decision affects a high-profile redevelopment site adjacent to a planned BRT line and involves tradeoffs between canopy/stream protection and accelerated redevelopment. It provides a template for how the city may negotiate SHOD conditions vs. strict overlay application in other interchange-adjacent redevelopment sites.
Next steps: The applicant will submit site plans consistent with the adopted conditions; if residential is built, the protective yard plantings or equivalent plantings will be required at site plan review and prior to issuance of building permits.
