Park Road Radio rezoning request tabled after neighbors press for narrower footprint

Park Road Radio LLC sought approval to rezone 8.92 acres along Park Road from agricultural to business zoning to consolidate radio infrastructure and equipment on its property. The applicant said the change would support tower consolidation and station upgrades, and denied rumors the site would become a data center.

The applicant told the commission that maintaining multiple towers and rented tower sites is costly and the company hopes to consolidate equipment on its own parcel to sustain WTRE’s operations. “We 1st of all, just kinda wanna squash the rumor about a data center,” the applicant said. “We bought the property … and we are working on a business plan to somewhat restructure our technology and our equipment.”

Nearby residents opposed rezoning the full nearly-9-acre parcel, urging the commission to limit any commercial zoning to a small footprint around the existing building so the remainder of the field stays agricultural. Dawn Barnes, whose family owns land adjacent to the radio station, said rezoning the entire parcel would open the door to future commercial uses she did not want on Park Road.

Board members discussed options and largely favored approving only a small footprint (roughly the mowed yard/house area) to meet the station’s administrative needs while protecting the rest of the parcel. The commission voted to table the petition to allow the applicant's engineers to respond and to return with proposed legal descriptions/surveys for a narrowed footprint.