Beaufort planning board recommends denying rezoning for Pollock Street lot

The Beaufort Planning Board voted at its meeting to recommend denial of a rezoning request for a vacant lot on Pollock Street that the applicant sought to reclassify from R‑8 to Cedar Street Mixed Use (CSMU).

Kyle, a town planning staff member, told the board that CSMU can show a side setback of 0 for mixed‑use buildings but that buffering rules still apply when a non–single‑family use abuts single‑family residences. "You would be required to have either the 10‑foot vegetative buffer with a 6‑foot opaque fence or the 20‑foot wide buffer," Kyle said, summarizing the Type A buffering standard the staff packet applies along single‑family property lines.

Board members raised a string of substantive concerns before the motion. Several questioned how far inland the Cedar Street Mixed Use district should extend, whether permitting CSMU uses three lots from Cedar Street would set a precedent for taller buildings and reduced parking in adjacent residential areas, and whether the parcel’s size would allow other zoning options. Kyle noted that a TCA (townhome/condominium) district requires an 80‑foot lot width; the subject lot measures about 55 feet and would need to be combined with neighboring property to meet that standard. The staff presentation also noted differential height limits (R‑8 and TCA generally 35 feet; CSMU up to 40 feet) and that parking standards under CSMU call for about 1.5 spaces per multifamily unit while single‑family lots typically require two spaces.

The applicant stated the intent was to match zoning at the adjacent 311 Pollock Street parcel and to build townhomes. "Essentially, this request is to match the zoning next door… the plan would be to build multifamily townhomes," the applicant said.

After discussion about possible uses that might be allowed by right under CSMU (including convenience stores or other commercial uses that some members said they would not want next to single‑family homes), a board member moved to recommend denial of the rezoning; the motion was seconded and the chair announced the motion was denied as the board’s recommendation to the Board of Commissioners. The board emphasized that commissioners should be informed of the rationale for the recommendation.

Next steps: the board’s recommendation will be transmitted to the Board of Commissioners for a final decision. Staff told the board it may consult legal counsel about whether a land‑use‑map amendment is appropriate to address the mapping inconsistency staff identified between the zoning and the future land‑use plan. The board then moved on to other business and adjourned.