Clayton council approves annexation and industrial rezoning over resident opposition

The Clayton Town Council voted July 20 to annex about 44 acres along Guy Road and approve a Type 3 conditional industrial rezoning for the project presented as Stoughton/Stone Crossing.

Assistant Planning Director Haley Downey told the council the request would bring two parcels into the town and that the proposed conditional zoning would run with the land if approved. ‘‘This is a contiguous annexation submitted under general statutes 168.31 and a Type 3 conditional zoning,’’ Downey said, describing required notices, an 80-foot perimeter buffer along some property edges and a set of conditions that prohibit certain uses and require roadway and utility improvements.

Developer Ben Harris of Stone Industrial presented the concept plan to the council, saying the project would build two speculative industrial buildings totaling about 374,000 square feet, dedicate right-of-way for Guy Road improvements, and extend sewer and water lines to the site. Harris said the utilities work was estimated at roughly $3,000,000 and described the project as capable of delivering about 300 jobs and generating approximately $1.3 million in tax revenue over a 10-year horizon.

The presentation prompted a lengthy public-comment period in which dozens of residents from nearby Golden Plantation and other subdivisions urged denial. ‘‘This annexation and rezoning would fundamentally change the character of an area that has not been identified for this type of development,’’ said resident and attorney Joyce Bradford, who urged council members to deny the request.

Other speakers raised shared concerns about noise, truck traffic and safety on Guy Road, potential declines in home values, impacts to wells and groundwater, light and air pollution, and adequacy of buffer and grading plans. Multiple residents asked the council to require reorientation of loading docks away from homes and to provide independent studies on property values and hydrology.

Council members debated the trade-offs before moving to adopt the annexation ordinance first and then the conditional rezoning. Councilmember [name as recorded in the meeting packet] moved to adopt the annexation ordinance (20-26-07-02); the motion carried by voice vote. The council then moved to adopt the conditional rezoning ordinance (20-26-07-01) with amended conditions removing indoor self-storage as a permitted principal use and limiting outdoor storage to a secondary use only; the motion likewise passed.

The council and staff noted that the rezoning is formally inconsistent with Clayton’s 2045 comprehensive growth plan because the parcels lie outside the town’s planning jurisdiction and current future land-use map, but said that patterns of nearby development and the planned I-540 corridor support the rezoning in this location. Planning staff also emphasized the project will be subject to site-plan and construction-drawings review if it advances.

Council action required two separate recorded motions: one to annex the parcels into Clayton and a second to approve the conditional zoning. No roll-call vote with named tallies was recorded in the public remarks; the minutes indicate both motions carried by voice vote. The developer agreed verbally at the meeting to remove indoor storage and to condition outdoor storage as secondary use.

The council’s approval allows the applicant to proceed with engineering and entitlement activities; any specifics about tenants, traffic mitigation beyond the turn lanes described, or construction timelines were not resolved at the hearing.