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Council approves Timber Drive East mixed‑use permit with condition barring tax‑exemption applications for 30 years
Summary
After hours of testimony and two new conditions, Garner Council approved the Timber Drive East special‑use permit by a 4–1 vote and added a 30‑year restriction preventing the owners from applying for a property tax exemption under N.C. Gen. Stat. §105‑278.6A8 without council approval.
Garner’s Town Council approved the special‑use permit for the Timber Drive East mixed‑use development on June 16, imposing ten site‑specific conditions and a 30‑year limit on applications for a certain property tax exemption.
Planner Joseph Linsky summarized the proposal as a 42‑acre development at Timber Drive and White Oak Road including four apartment buildings with roughly 300 units, nine retail buildings and a grocery anchor. “The apartment buildings are on the southwest corner… 300 units over four buildings,” Linsky said during the quasi‑judicial hearing.
Council and staff focused on two new conditions produced during follow‑up work with the applicant. Assistant Town Manager Hodges read one of the most substantive items — condition 10 — into the record: for 30 years following approval the owners shall not apply for a property tax exemption under section 105‑278.6A8 of the North Carolina General Statutes, and any such application would constitute a major modification requiring council approval.
That measure was added after council expressed concern about the effect of tax‑exempt status on the town’s ability to recoup infrastructure costs through an economic incentive agreement. “That language is being proposed … to protect the town’s interest,” Attorney Jones said when asked about legal sufficiency.
Council debated building height, comprehensive‑plan consistency and fiscal impacts. Council member Dellinger repeatedly urged taller buildings to increase revenue; he moved to add a condition requiring a minimum five‑story height for the multifamily buildings, but the amendment failed on a 1–4 roll call vote. The council then approved the SUP as amended, 4–1.
Why it matters: The SUP will allow a major mixed‑use project in the town’s E‑district and the new restriction is designed to prevent the developer from claiming a statutory tax exemption that would reduce the property’s taxable value and thus the revenue available to fund public infrastructure.
What happens next: Staff will prepare the final permit paperwork incorporating the ten conditions, and the development team will proceed with building permits and infrastructure design subject to the SUP conditions.
