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Mebane council approves conditional rezoning for First Baptist property to allow daycare, future church
Summary
The council rezoned 22.57 acres at 940 Gibson Road from light manufacturing to an Office & Institutional Conditional District, approving a 21,000‑sq‑ft daycare on a phased campus and requiring a 100‑ft right‑turn taper and sidewalk construction; annexation will be needed to access city utilities.
MEBANE — The Mebane City Council on April 7 approved a conditional rezoning that clears the way for a daycare and potential future church facilities on 22.57 acres owned by First Baptist Church of Mebane at 940 Gibson Road.
Development Director Ashley Olmby summarized the request, saying the property is currently zoned for light manufacturing and the requested Office & Institutional Conditional District (ONI CD) would allow a daycare and a church by right under the proposed conditions. Olmby said the daycare component is planned as a roughly 21,000‑square‑foot building with a fenced play area, a parking lot and a drop‑off area; the applicant must build a 100‑foot northbound right‑turn taper on Gibson Road at the driveway entrance and construct a 5‑foot sidewalk along the site’s fringes as it develops.
"In the office and institutional conditional district, a daycare would be allowed by right as would a church and associated facilities," Olmby said during the presentation, and she stressed that annexation would be required for the site to connect to city utilities.
Applicant Stan Wheatley, representing First Baptist Church, said the rezoning will allow the campus to be developed in phases without returning to the council for routine special‑use permits. "We're just asking to rezone it," Wheatley said, explaining the phased approach and noting that the first phase would be the daycare nearer Gibson Road.
Council members discussed connectivity to adjacent neighborhoods and whether the church’s private drive would be a city‑maintained street; staff explained that the driveway is planned as a private drive and that guaranteed public connectivity would require the street to be dedicated to the city. During the public‑hearing portion, no members of the public spoke to oppose the rezoning and council moved to close the hearing.
Council voted to find the proposed ONI CD consistent with objectives in the city's 2017 comprehensive land development plan and approved the conditional rezoning by voice vote (motion carries). The zoning approval allows the daycare and preserves council review for any other ONI uses not covered by the conditional district.
