TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Dr. Gerald Newton, AICP - Development Services Director
FROM: Demetrios Moutos - Planner I
DATE: September 9, 2025
RE:Title
P25-43: Request to rezone 79.39 acres at 4407 Distribution Drive and adjacent parcels from multiple districts to HI, owned by STEELFAB OF VIRGINIA INC, represented by Cynthia Smith of Moorman, Kizer, & Reitzel.
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COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
3 - Council Member Mario Benavente
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Goal II: Responsive City Government Supporting a Diverse and Viable Economy
* Objective 2.1 - To ensure a diverse City tax base
* Objective 2.3 - To support job creation and retention partnerships
* Objective 2.4 - To sustain a favorable development and business climate
Goal III: City Invested in Today and Tomorrow
* Objective 3.2 - To manage the City's future growth and strategic land use
* Objective 3.3 - To provide timely and accurate development review
Executive Summary:
This request would rezone multiple parcels in the Distribution Drive/Shaw Mill Road area to Heavy Industrial (HI) to allow SteelFab to develop a new fabrication plant with associated yard operations. The site is within the city's utility service area and sits amid an established mix of industrial and commercial uses.
At a high level, the proposal appears consistent with the City's land use direction for employment/industrial areas and supports strategic economic development objectives. The following sections provide the detailed analysis of compatibility, infrastructure capacity, transportation, environmental/JLUS considerations, and policy consistency.
Background:
Owner: SteelFab VA, Inc. (Contact: Rob Burlington)
Applicant: Cynthia Smith and Jimmy Kizer, Moorman, Kizer, & Reitzel, Inc.
Requested Action: Multiple Districts to HI (Heavy Industrial)
REID #s: 0429430099000, 0429339313000, 0429343711000, 0429257544000, 0429348520000
Status of Properties: Partially developed (industrial storage/laydown) with remaining acreage undeveloped
Size: 79.39 acres ?
Adjoining Land Use & Zoning:
* North: HI along Shaw Mill Road (contractor storage); across Shaw Mill Road, a mix of LI, LC, HI, and SF-6 with industrial uses near single-family subdivision
* South: 80-ft. railroad right-of-way; beyond along the Murchison Rd corridor - CC, SF-6, LI, and LC
* East: CC and LI with a mixture of businesses along Distribution Drive
* West: Across Distribution Drive - mobile home park and, at the site's south end, a 123-acre MR-5 tract currently used for fill dirt.
Letters Mailed: 184; notices to all owners within a 1,000-ft. buffer.
Issues/Analysis:
History:
SteelFab operates a fabrication plant at the end of Distribution Drive near Country Club Drive. The owners have acquired six adjacent lots that are currently used for plant-related storage and propose to expand operations with a new facility on these tracts. An 80-ft. railroad right-of-way bounds the south edge of the area.
Surrounding Area:
Distribution Drive and Shaw Mill Road form a mixed industrial/commercial corridor. Nearby zoning includes Heavy Industrial (HI) and Light Industrial (LI) with contractor yards and storage, Community/Limited Commercial (CC/LC) with various businesses and residential districts including a mobile home park across Distribution Drive and SF-6 neighborhoods further west toward Murchison Road. A large MR-5 tract lies across Distribution Drive and is presently used for fill material. The zoning mosaic and industrial uses intensify east along Shaw Mill Road, where additional HI zoning is present.
Rezoning Request:
The applicant seeks a straight rezoning of approximately 79.39 acres from multiple existing districts to Heavy Industrial (HI) to accommodate an expansion of SteelFab's operations. As a straight rezoning under UDO ?30-2.C, no conditions may be applied; all uses permitted in HI by the UDO Use Table would be allowed if approved. Public water and sewer service are available in this area.
Land Use Plan Analysis:
The City's Future Land Use Map and Plan emphasize concentrating employment and industrial growth in appropriate locations, encouraging economic development in designated Industrial/Employment areas, and focusing value where urban services exist. The subject corridor already functions as an employment node with existing utilities, roadway access, and rail adjacency, aligning with LU-1 (growth where services exist) and LU-2 (strategic economic development, industrial siting) in the Plan. Public Works Commission comments indicate water and sewer main extensions to the end of Distribution Drive will be reviewed and permitted through PWC's process, consistent with the Plan's implementation focus on coordinated infrastructure. The site is within the Fort Bragg JLUS planning context; City Policy (LU-11) prioritizes compatibility in JLUS areas and discourages new residential intensification there.
Industrial/employment areas are generally more compatible than residential or public assembly uses in the Noise/Accident Potential context, and the case materials include JLUS proximity/protection mapping for review.
Consistency and Reasonableness:
The request continues an established industrial pattern along Distribution Drive and Shaw Mill Road and does not create an isolated zoning district. It promotes logical, orderly development by consolidating multiple tracts under a single industrial district and leveraging existing industrial adjacency and rail frontage. These outcomes are consistent with the Future Land Use Plan's policies for strategic, compatible growth and with the City's FY 2025 Strategic Plan - Goal II (diverse tax base) and Goal III (managing future growth and strategic land use).
Conclusion:
Reclassifying the subject tracts to HI aligns with the corridor's prevailing industrial character, the Future Land Use Plan's emphasis on targeted employment areas with coordinated infrastructure, and the Strategic Plan's goals for economic diversification and growth management. Approval would support an orderly extension of an existing employer while maintaining compatibility with surrounding industrial and commercial uses and the JLUS framework.
Budget Impact:
The proposal's net budget impact to the City is likely positive over time: a 79.39-acre upzoning to HI supporting a ?233,800-sf steel fabrication plan would expand the ad valorem tax base and aligns with the Strategic Plan's objective to "ensure a diverse City tax base," while concentrating industrial activity in a planned employment area per the Future Land Use Plan (LU-2). One-time City revenues may include development review fees and, if used, Open Space payment in-lieu (calculated at $12,038.96 per acre for the applicable portion), along with a Truck Route Bond during construction: the project also triggers a $500 hydrant flow test fee through PWC. Utility extensions (water/sewer) would be reviewed and permitted by PWC under its policies - often developer-funded rather than General Fund - limiting direct City capital exposure, while NCDOT driveway permitting shifts some access-improvement obligations off the City system. Ongoing costs would primarily be service demands (fire/police/inspections) common to industrial operations; TRC conditions (fire access, radio coverage, stormwater controls) internalize many infrastructure and compliance costs to the applicant, reducing City operations and maintenance liabilities. Overall, this case supports Goals II and V (tax base growth and fiscal stewardship) with manageable near-term review/inspection costs and limited long-term obligations relative to anticipated taxable investment.
Options:
1. Approval of the map amendment to HI as presented, based on the evidence submitted, and finding the request consistent with the Future Land Use Plan as demonstrated by the attached consistency and reasonableness statement. (Recommended)
2. Approval of the map amendment with a reduction in the area proposed to be rezoned to HI, based on the evidence submitted, and finding the amended request consistent with the Future Land Use Plan, as reflected in an amended consistency and reasonableness statement.
3. Approval of a map amendment to a more restrictive base zoning district, based on the evidence submitted, and finding that the modified map amendment would be consistent with the Future Land Use Plan, as reflected in an amended consistency and reasonableness statement.
4. Denial of the map amendment request, based on the evidence submitted, and finding that the request is inconsistent with the Future Land Use Plan.
Recommended Action::Recommended Action
The Professional Planning Staff recommends that the Zoning Commission move to recommend approval of the proposed map amendment to Heavy Industrial (HI), based on the following findings:
* The proposed map amendment is consistent with the City's adopted growth strategies and supports policies in the Future Land Use Plan that promote strategic economic development in designated industrial/employment areas served by existing infrastructure. The request covers approximately 79.39 acres at the terminus of Distribution Drive and aligns with the Plan's emphasis on focusing value and investment around infrastructure and employment nodes.
* The uses permitted under the HI zoning classification are appropriate for the surrounding area given the existing pattern of industrial and commercial zoning and uses along Distribution Drive and Shaw Mill Road (including adjacent HI and LI districts, nearby storage/contractor yards, and the rail right-of-way). Case materials and the zoning map confirm that the site is embedded within a broader industrial context, making HI a logical and compatible designation.
* There are no identified adverse impacts on public health, safety, morals, or general welfare resulting from the proposed rezoning. Agency and Technical Review Committee comments indicate that any future development must meet applicable fire access, utility, stormwater, and access standards, which will mitigate site-specific impacts at the permitting stage.
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Attachments:
1. Plan Application
2. Aerial Notification Map
3. Zoning Map
4. Land Use Plan Map
5. JLUS Air Corridor Proximity Map
6. JLUS Protection Rating Map
7. Subject Property Photo
8. Surrounding Property Photos
9. Consistency and Reasonableness Statement
10. TRC Comments