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Mebane council approves conditional rezoning for North 1st Street mixed‑use development
Summary
The Mebane City Council approved a conditional rezoning for just over 60 acres on North 1st Street to allow a planned unit development with roughly 192 townhomes, 36 single‑family homes and up to 15,000 sq ft of office/retail, plus required turn lanes and a roundabout reviewed by NCDOT.
The Mebane City Council on March 3 approved a conditional rezoning that clears the way for a mixed‑use planned unit development on just over 60 acres along North 1st Street.
Development Director Ashley Ownby opened the public hearing, saying, “Before you is a request to conditionally rezone property on North 1st Street, which totals just over 60 acres,” and described the site’s split zoning, watershed overlay and the requirement that an annexation would be needed before city utilities could serve the site.
The site plan presented by the applicant shows a mix of residential and limited nonresidential uses: 192 townhomes, 36 single‑family detached homes and approximately 15,000 square feet of office/retail space, along with more than 23 acres of private open space and connections to the emerging multiuse path network. Tony Tate, the project’s landscape architect, described the unit mix and amenities, saying the plan includes “a swimming pool amenity that will be available to the townhomes” and private trails maintained by the homeowners association.
Council members asked detailed questions about dimensional changes and how the city would ensure compliance. Ownby confirmed the applicant proposes a 50‑foot streetscape while the UDO minimum is 20 feet and explained enforcement: separation between townhome buildings “will be shown” in construction plan review and verified during permit review. The developer team said townhome side setbacks would be reduced to 3 feet from the property line but that a 20‑foot separation between buildings would be maintained.
Developers also described required traffic improvements. Ownby noted a traffic impact analysis reviewed by city staff and the North Carolina Department of Transportation requires left‑ and right‑turn lanes at the southern entrance and a roundabout at the northern entrance; those features would be coordinated with the adjacent Preserve at Mill Creek project.
Council member (speaker 3) moved to approve the R‑8 conditional district zoning, citing consistency with the city’s comprehensive land development plan; the motion was seconded and carried on a voice vote. The motion’s approval amends an earlier, denser plan and emphasizes green space, connectivity and a mix of walkable neighborhood services.
The vote was a voice vote recorded in the meeting minutes; no roll‑call tally was read into the record. The council closed the public hearing and approved the rezoning at the same meeting.
The developer indicated commercial space would be limited to neighborhood service uses (examples discussed included a coffee shop, deli or small medical/dental tenant), with certain uses expressly excluded from the allowed list. Staff and the development team said the commercial area would likely be built to suit, phased after early residential construction, and that final market prices for units would be set closer to the time of construction.
