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Planning Board unanimously recommends denial of special-use permit for proposed downtown convenience store
Summary
The Planning and Board of Adjustment recommended denial of Samir Ali’s special-use permit for a convenience store with a kitchen at 515 N. Queen Street, citing public-health, property-value, drainage, and traffic concerns; the denial will be forwarded to City Council in June.
The Kinston Planning and Board of Adjustment voted unanimously May 12 to recommend denial of a special-use permit requested by Samir Ali to operate a convenience store with a kitchen at 515 N. Queen Street in the downtown business district.
Director of Planning and Development Services Elizabeth Blount presented the application and said the site is zoned B-2 (Central Business) and that the proposed use aligns with the comprehensive plan’s downtown mixed-use guidance. She told the Board the property is adjacent to the Allen Foster Law Office, the Neuse Regional Library, a single-family dwelling and Kinston Towers, and that the site previously housed a dry cleaner.
Board Member Omar Grady moved to deny the special-use permit, saying concerns about traffic, late operating hours and a potential drive-through could lead to loitering and harm the predominantly elderly neighborhood’s safety. Director Blount confirmed on-site rear parking meets the ordinance requirement of four spaces per 1,000 square feet and noted the site had an existing drive-through configuration from its prior use.
Board Member Mary Margaret Herring, citing her experience with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, said Queen Street’s traffic volumes would not safely accommodate a drive-through and agreed to be considered an expert witness for ingress-and-egress evidence. Board Member Betty Nobles raised the possibility that conversion of a former dry-cleaning facility could carry contamination and drainage risks; Director Blount said Environmental Health—not Planning—would determine site suitability for food-service conversion.
Chair Jess Edwards identified four special-use permit criteria—F.5.4.5.1 (danger to public health), F.5.4.5.2 (diminution of neighboring property values), F.5.4.5.5 (inadequate drainage and utilities), and F.5.4.5.6 (inadequate ingress and egress/traffic congestion)—as the bases for denial, and stated, in his capacity as a real estate agent, that the proposed use could negatively affect nearby property values. After refining the motion to incorporate those criteria, the Board voted unanimously to deny the application.
Director Blount said the Board’s recommendation will be forwarded to City Council in June and urged that a Board representative present the factual basis for the denial; Chair Edwards said he would be unavailable on the anticipated Council date and named Board Member Tonyu Marshall to speak on behalf of the Board. Board Member Herring offered to obtain NCDOT traffic-count data to support the presentation.
The City Council will make the final decision on the permit.
