Burlington planning commission backs rezoning request to consolidate World of Pentecost campus

The Burlington Planning & Zoning Commission voted unanimously Feb. 23 to recommend approval of a conditional rezoning that would consolidate several church-owned parcels into a single conditional residential (CR956) zoning district for the World of Pentecost Church at 1101 Cedar Crest Drive.

Staff said the application, case 25-006, covers roughly 17.57 acres at the northwest corner of Hanford Road and Cedar Crest Drive and seeks to include additional Alamance County tax parcels under common church ownership to accommodate parking and planned building additions. ‘‘The request is to put all of these parcels into the same zoning district to allow for the church to continue to expand,’’ staff said in the commission packet presentation.

The staff presentation listed permitted uses under the proposed expanded conditional rezoning: a church, school and daycare, and noted one existing single-family dwelling on lot five would remain subject to medium-density residential standards. Staff also noted an existing outdoor advertising structure adjacent to I-40 would carry forward under the application but could not be relocated or altered as part of this rezoning.

Resident commenter Eddie McKinnon raised concerns about whether future development would trigger curb, gutter, paving or utility improvements and described a separate, long-standing neighborhood grievance that Lewis Court lacks city water and sewer installations. McKinnon said certain infrastructure requirements make small-lot development financially burdensome, citing an estimated example cost of about $300,000 to open and bring infrastructure to lots valued at roughly $80,000. Staff responded that any future development would be required to conform with the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) and proceed through the technical review committee and that N.C. Department of Transportation review would apply for Hanford Road access.

A commissioner moved to recommend approval, citing the church’s existing conditional zoning and noting that while the request is inconsistent with the current future land use map (which shows general industrial and regional commercial uses for parts of the area), consolidating the parcels would allow cohesive future development. The commission carried the motion in a roll-call vote with Chair James Kurpatre, Vice Chair Beasley, Member Brown, Member Mills, Member Spacini, Member Rainer and Member Saunders voting to recommend approval. Staff said the item will be presented at a City Council work session on March 2, with a public hearing expected March 17.

The recommendation does not itself change property zoning; it forwards the commission’s recommendation to the City Council for final action. Interested neighbors were asked to leave contact information with staff for follow-up.