Novartis seeks conditional rezoning for Morrisville site; council leaves public hearing open
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Summary
Novartis and Pathway request a conditional rezoning at 1800 Strand Street to allow above-ground solvent storage for a small-molecule manufacturing facility; staff outlined 19 conditions including secondary containment, buffer/screening, water testing, security controls and limits on tank locations. The council left the public hearing open to April 28 for additional input.
Town planning staff described a conditional rezoning request for about 4.6 acres at 1800 Strand Street submitted by King Street Properties and Novartis to permit above-ground storage tanks for hazardous solvents as part of a small-molecule manufacturing facility (Building 7).
Planner Shelley Mayo summarized staff-recommended conditions intended to minimize public-safety and environmental risk: tanks may be located only within the rezoned area (not the whole parcel); tanks are prohibited in special flood hazard areas; each tank enclosure must have secondary containment sized to hold at least 150% of the largest tank plus required firefighting volume, and that containment must drain to the site's stormwater control measure or be removed for third-party treatment if samples fail state/federal thresholds. Staff also required access control for the tank and loading areas, sight screening and evergreen planting along the adjacent greenway, at least 75% native plantings on-site, a rooftop constructed to support 25% solar capacity on the lower roof, year-round on-site staffing, and annual or more frequent stormwater testing of the containment area with report access for town staff.
Planner Mayo said the requested zoning relief includes some deviations from the UDO (for example allowing above-ground rather than underground storage in this location and a building-height exception up to 83 feet for Building 7); staff noted the facility will be set back and largely screened from public view and that Planning & Zoning unanimously recommended approval at its March 12 meeting.
Novartis representatives described the operation as a closed-process small-molecule manufacturing line that requires solvent storage for process and maintenance reasons; they said the proposed systems will meet or exceed applicable codes and permits, include automatic detection and an automatic foam fire suppression system, and include a monitored alarm that notifies the fire department. The applicant said solvents would be transported off-site for disposal as required, and average wages for on-site positions are expected to be six-figure averages (staff cited roughly $112,000 average salary for the facility positions referenced).
Town and applicant technical staff (including Novartis engineers and the town fire marshal) answered council questions about solvent types (the applicant named typical solvents including methanol, toluene and acetone among others), testing protocols for containment-area runoff, whether the site would be continuously staffed, security/access control and whether on-site foam reserves would be available to the town for an incident. Fire Marshal Charles Aldridge said the proposed suppression and early-detection systems exceed code and the department is comfortable with the engineering approach; he asked that the applicant retain some foam supplies on-site for emergency response.
After questions, the council left the public hearing open to April 28, 2026 to allow additional public comment and to permit staff and the applicant to provide any follow-up materials requested by council members. No final rezoning decision was made at this meeting.
