Commission asks Board to approve rezoning for RV/boat storage and future apartments at Riverside Dr. & Blackberry Rd.

The Henry County Planning Commission on June 10 voted unanimously to request that the Board of Supervisors approve rezoning case R-26-11, converting approximately 5.676 acres at the northwest corner of Riverside Drive and Blackberry Road (Tax Map 15.8/121) from Suburban Residential (S-R) to Commercial District B-1.

Applicant Bobby Taylor told the commission the proposal would place RV and boat storage units in the front curve of the parcel and include an access road up to a plateau intended for future apartment development. Taylor said his in-laws plan an RV park across the road and that similar storage units he referenced in Eden, N.C., were "neat, well-managed, and fully occupied," which he said would complement the park and attract visitors to the county.

Planner and Director of Planning Lee Clark said the portion proposed for rezoning would allow the uses the applicant requested and signaled staff support, saying that if Taylor builds units of comparable quality "they will certainly be an asset." Commissioner Stuart Bowman clarified that the rezoning would make the whole 5.676-acre parcel B-1 (Lot B was already B-1). Bowman moved to request Board approval; Dee West seconded, and commissioners voted unanimously to advance the application.

The commission did not record a roll-call vote in the minutes; the action was noted as a unanimous approval. The request will go to the Board of Supervisors for final action, and any site-plan details, including access and buffering for future development, will be reviewed during the county's site plan approval process.