Indian Trail planning board upholds violations at 225 Garmin Road, urges stormwater fixes

The Planning & Zoning Board on June 1 affirmed town staff’s determination that 225 Garmin Road is not in compliance with the Town of Indian Trail Unified Development Ordinance.

Tyler Hayoski, the town’s senior planner, told the board staff’s review and photographs show multiple uses on the parcel — including auto and semi‑truck repair, outdoor storage and what staff described as a junk/salvage operation — and no site‑specific development plan or required stormwater design. Hayoski said staff estimates about 50,000 square feet of gravel was added to the site without permits and that town records show neither conditional use approvals nor building or site permits for the changes at issue.

"Compliance," Hayoski told the board when asked the town’s objective, adding, "We would like to see the property brought back to where it was pre‑existing or to bring it into compliance with current codes." He read the enforcement timeline into the record, noting a first notice of violation was sent in November 2025, a final notice was issued March 10, 2026 with an April 9 compliance deadline, and that daily civil penalties were spelled out in the notices.

The appellant, Josh Martin, who filed the appeal on behalf of owner Linda Martin, testified that the property had multiple long‑standing tenants and that the Martins believed some uses pre‑dated current code. Martin said he had removed some vehicles and worked to show progress but that the largest compliance barrier was moving a trucking tenant whose lease expired May 31; he said the family’s plan is to remove an unpermitted lean‑to, relocate or remove excess gravel and have the trucking operation vacate so the site can be restored.

"That’s the plan for us — the trucking company was going to leave," Martin said, asking for a reasonable timetable for remediation.

Neighbors and technical experts pressed the board on environmental effects. Angela Partardee, who owns an 18.317‑acre parcel immediately south‑southwest of 225 Garmin, said she discovered a newly cut trench funneling runoff toward downstream ponds and asked the town and owner to address potential contamination and sedimentation risks. David Hanley, a licensed professional engineer retained by neighbors, described a small rain‑event site visit and sampling that found turbid discharge and a total suspended solids measurement of 85 milligrams per liter in runoff entering the neighbor’s pond. Hanley said the trench functioned as an uncontrolled conveyance and recommended a formal stormwater solution — for example a detention basin designed by a North Carolina registered professional engineer — and interim erosion controls such as straw waddles or hay bales to limit sediment flow.

"Development or redevelopment creating a total of 20,000 square feet or more of impervious surface shall be designed to control the peak discharge," the board recorded from the town’s stormwater code as part of staff’s presentation. Board members emphasized that adding roughly 50,000 square feet of gravel without required stormwater infrastructure creates exactly the kind of downstream impacts the ordinance is intended to prevent.

The town’s staff position was that the Martins did not meet the burden to show the contested uses were lawfully established before the current ordinance, and that the post‑2006 expansions and new impervious areas triggered site‑plan, stormwater and other modern requirements. After reviewing the evidence and photographic exhibits, the board affirmed each of the staff’s proposed findings of fact and directed staff to proceed with the enforcement record and draft the formal findings and conclusions for the board’s next meeting.

The board did not adopt a single, board‑enforced remediation deadline during the hearing; members nonetheless urged the town and property owners to prioritize immediate steps to reduce ongoing runoff into downstream ponds, including temporary erosion controls and coordination with an engineer. Town staff told the board it will work with the property owners on next steps and on any schedule for compliance that staff determines appropriate under the ordinance and enforcement authority.

Nearby resident Sally Johnson told the board she previously observed washing and discharge activities tied to the site and reported recurring runoff impacts to pasture and pond areas. The board closed the hearing and asked staff to prepare written findings and conclusions for board review at the next meeting.