Tyrone City Planning Commission approves rezoning of 5.02-acre Dogwood Trail parcel to R-20 with 75-foot buffer

The Tyrone City Planning Commission voted to rezone a 5.02-acre parcel (parcel 0728-066) near 559 Dogwood Trail from C-1 (community commercial) to R-20 (conditional one-acre single-family, 2,000 sq ft minimum). The approval, made by voice vote after a staff presentation and public remarks, includes a condition that a 75-foot buffer be recorded on the parcel’s western boundary and that the adjacent tract be combined via platting so the buffer runs with the land.

Planning staff told the commission the parcel sits on the border of the town’s community gateway and estate residential character areas and that prior action in 2023 had split a larger tract so part of it carries a C-1 classification. Staff recommended approval only if the 75-foot buffer is incorporated on the rezoned property to prevent creating a nonconforming condition for the adjoining commercial parcels. "If we rezone this property to R-20, it's staff's recommendation that the 75-ft buffer be incorporated onto this property so that that zoning condition is met," staff said during the presentation.

Owner Clay Adams, who identified himself in public comment, said he plans to build a house on the tract and to preserve most of the woods. "This is kind of our forever home," Adams said. Applicant and architect Richard Spears told the commission he walked the site and concluded that much of the parcel is constrained by floodplain and soil/perk limitations, making commercial redevelopment unlikely. "I don't think you could develop anything but a residence on this property," Spears said.

Staff and the applicant also discussed technical constraints: portions of the tract lie in floodplain and only a few small areas 'perk' for septic systems, limiting buildable area and reducing the parcel’s commercial development potential. Staff noted consultation with the Department of Environmental Health about reserve-field needs for septic systems and said platting and administrative review (including ESCPC erosion-control requirements where applicable) would ensure the buffer appears on future development records.

Commissioners sought clarification on acreage and logistics; staff confirmed the subject parcel is 5.02 acres and the adjoining tract is 9.58 acres. A commissioner asked whether combining the parcels would affect accessory-structure rules for a possible barn; staff replied that platting the properties together with the buffer recorded would provide the needed flexibility and that accessory-structure rules require a principal dwelling on the same parcel.

A motion to approve rezoning of parcel 0728-066 from C-1 to R-20 with the 75-foot western buffer and to combine the properties (staff recommendation) was made, seconded, and passed; the chair announced, "Motion carries." The motion was recorded without a roll-call tally in the public record.

Next steps: staff said the buffer should be recorded as a plat at the courthouse so it runs with the land; future development applications will be checked administratively to confirm the buffer remains in place. No party spoke in opposition during the hearing.