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Board hears Gabriel Farms rezoning and annexation plan for 218 townhomes on 50.28 acres
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Summary
Staff presented CZ25-10 and a paired voluntary annexation for Gabriel Farms (50.28 acres at 1680 Mecklenburg Highway) proposing roughly 218 attached units, a 2-acre conveyance to the town and roadway mitigation; planning board unanimously recommended approval and staff found statutory annexation requirements met.
Planning staff briefed the board April 6 on a conditional rezoning and a parallel voluntary annexation filed by Gabriel Farms Properties LLC for a 50.28-acre site at 1680 Mecklenburg Highway.
The rezoning request (CZ25-10) would move the property from corridor mixed-use and residential low intensity to corridor mixed-use conditional and would allow about 218 attached single-family townhomes (roughly 4.34 dwelling units per acre). The proposal includes approximately 3.7 acres of active open space, no commercial space in the current concept, and mitigation measures that include bringing the Coach Cove Church driveway up to town collector-street standards for roughly 1,700 feet.
Staff said planning board reviewed the case earlier this year and unanimously recommended approval; staff also reported that 13 residents attended a neighborhood meeting in December and feedback was generally favorable. Planning staff noted portions of the site are within watershed protection overlays and that a sizable portion of the property is inside the village center node on the town’s growth map.
The companion annexation (Annexation 25-04) would be voluntary and contiguous; staff said both water and sewer would be available for the site once the necessary pump-station work to the south (Cadia) is completed and that the property would be in Ward 1 if annexed. Staff concluded the petition meets statutory requirements for voluntary annexation.
Commissioners asked about the location of the two-acre conveyance to the town, compatibility with the East–West Corridor land-use plan (which had earlier been described as an employment center), and response times for emergency services; staff said the conveyance ties into a transit corridor strategy and that the site lies within a five-mile fire-response area though not within the four-minute response window from current Station 5 (Station 7 would serve it in the future). Staff committed to bring the applicant to the April 6 hearing to present additional materials and answer questions.
