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Planning commission tables rezoning and setback variance for Hickory Road parcel after neighbor privacy concerns
Summary
Holly Springs planning commissioners unanimously voted to table a request to rezone a 0.37-acre parcel on Hickory Road and its companion setback variance after a nearby homeowner raised privacy, buffering and utility-easement concerns and commissioners requested revised site plans showing alternative building and driveway layouts.
Holly Springs planning commissioners on Tuesday tabled a rezoning request (MA022026) and a companion variance (V042026) for a 0.37-acre parcel at the corner of Hickory Road and New Light Road after nearby residents and commissioners raised questions about buffering, lighting and driveway safety.
Staff told the commission the triangular lot had limited development potential because of its size and shape but recommended rezoning the property from R-40 single-family to NC (neighborhood commercial) with stipulations including Dark-Sky-compliant lighting, prohibited uses, and coordination with the city engineer on driveway placement. The staff presentation noted right-in/right-out access constraints at the site and said final engineering review would determine driveway location.
A Greystone Village homeowner who said he lives at 201 Whitestone Drive told the commission he was concerned that commercial lighting, parking and building placement could intrude on his backyard and reduce privacy and property value. “I would just request the stipulation that some sort of undisturbed natural buffer, ideally evergreen trees … be maintained up against the rear of my property line as to not intrude on my privacy or devalue my property value,” the homeowner said, adding that utility easements and prior utility tree trimming limited where trees could be planted.
Commissioners and staff clarified that the transmission-line easement is a separate strip of property and that trees cannot be planted inside the utility right-of-way; any required buffer trees would have to be planted on the applicant’s property. Commissioners also discussed moving the driveway and changing the building orientation to reduce left-turn conflicts at the nearby signal and to pull the development farther from the neighboring homes.
After extended discussion about orientation, parking layout and whether the lot could physically accommodate larger setbacks while still providing necessary parking and drainage, a commissioner moved to table the rezoning so the applicant could produce revised designs showing alternative layouts and driveway locations. The motion to table MA022026 was seconded and passed unanimously; the commission also unanimously tabled the companion variance V042026.
City staff noted the rezoning recommendation included several stipulations to limit potential impacts (lighting, prohibited uses, landscaping coordination and no outside storage), but commissioners said they wanted revised plans from the applicant and the architect that show options for moving the building and parking away from the rear neighbor and that address driveway access before taking a final vote.
The matter will return to a future planning commission agenda after the applicant provides revised site plans and coordination with the city engineer, according to the commission’s motion.
