TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Kelly Olivera - Assistant City Manager
Dr. Gerald Newton, AICP - Development Services Director
FROM: Will Deaton, AICP, CFM, CZO - Planning & Zoning Division Manager
Heather Eckhardt, CZO - Planner II
DATE: April 22, 2024
RE:
Title
P24-18. Rezoning from Light Industrial (LI) to Community Commercial (CC) located at 2326 Owen Drive (REID 0426419941000) totaling .91 acres ± and being the property of McCauley & McDonald Investments Inc.
end
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
2 - Malik Davis
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Strategic Operating Plan FY 2022
Goals 2027
Goal II: Responsive City Government Supporting a Diverse and Viable Economy
• Objective 2.1 - To ensure a diverse City tax base
Goal III: City invested in Today and Tomorrow
• Objective 3.2 - To manage the City's future growth and strategic land use.
Goal IV: Desirable Place to Live, Work, and Recreate
• Objective 4.5 - To ensure a place for people to live in great neighborhoods.
Executive Summary:
The applicant is requesting to rezone 2326 Owen Drive from Light Industrial (LI) to Community Commercial (CC) to bring a non-conforming use into compliance.
This request was heard at the March 12th Zoning Commission meeting and the commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the rezoning request.
Background:
Owner: McCauley & McDonald Investments Inc
Applicant: Mary Talley
Requested Action: LI to CC
REID #: 0426419941000
Council District: 2 - Malik Davis
Status of Property: Vacant convenience store with gasoline sales
Size: .91 acres
Adjoining Land Use & Zoning:
• North: LI - Power substation
• South: R6 & C3 (County) - Single family house and vacant land
• East: CC - Church
• West: C(P) CZ (County) - Single family house
Annual Average Daily Traffic: Owen Drive: 41,500
Cumberland Road: 21,500
Letters Mailed: 77
Land Use Plans:
With the adoption of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan: Future Land Use Map & Plan on May 26, 2020, all properties within the city limits as well as properties identified as being in the Municipal Influence Area (MIA) are subject to this plan.
According to the Plan, it is recommended that this portion of the city should be developed as Commercial Strip Redevelopment. Commercial Strip Redevelopment is intended to be a commercial mixed use area that encourages higher density residential redevelopment as part of the land use mix to spur private development. Target areas are clusters of underutilized commercial strip properties.
Issues/Analysis:
History:
The subject property has been used in a commercial nature since at least 1982 based on aerial photography. The now vacant convenience store with gasoline sales was built in 1983 per Cumberland County Tax records. At the time of development, the subject property was zoned M1 which allowed for the use as well as many more intense and industrial uses. The M1 zoning district was converted to the Light Industrial (LI) zoning district with the adoption of the Unified Development Ordinance. The use of convenience store with gasoline sales is not a permitted use in the current LI zoning district.
Surrounding Area:
The subject property is located at the edge of the city limits at the corner of Owen Drive and Cumberland Road. The areas to the south and east of the subject property are located in the County and have a combination of residential and commercial zoning districts and uses ranging from single family houses to office buildings. The areas to the north and east are in the city limits of Fayetteville. The area to the north is zoned LI and houses a Duke Energy power station. The area to the east is zoned Community Commercial and currently occupied by a church.
Rezoning Request:
Land within the City is generally classified by the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) to be within one of many base zoning districts. Land may be reclassified to one of several comparable zoning districts in accordance with Section 30-2.C.
Straight Zoning:
The applicant has requested to rezone a single parcel from Light Industrial (LI) to Community Commercial (CC).
The Community Commercial (CC) District is established and intended to accommodate a diverse range of medium- to high-intensity retail, service, and office uses that provide goods and services serving the residents and businesses in the community at large
The reclassification of land to a base zoning district without conditions allows all of the uses that are shown on the attached Use Table taken from the UDO. The Zoning Commission may not consider conditions or restrictions on the range of allowable uses, use standards, development intensities, development standards, and other applicable regulations.
Land Use Plan Analysis:
According to the Future Land Use Map & Plan, it is recommended that this portion of the city should be developed as Commercial Strip Redevelopment. Commercial Strip Redevelopment is intended to be a commercial mixed use area that encourages higher density residential redevelopment as part of the land use mix to spur private development. Target areas are clusters of underutilized commercial strip properties.
According to the 2040 Future Land Use Plan, this proposed development falls within Goal # 1: Focus value and investments around infrastructure and strategic nodes and Goal # 3: encourage redevelopment of strip commercial areas.
Under the plan’s Land Use Policies and Strategies section, subsection Strategic, Compatible Growth, this proposed development falls under the following sections:
LUP 1: Encourage growth in areas well-served by infrastructure and urban services, including roads, utilities, parks, schools, police, fire, and emergency services.
• 1.6 Require adequate infrastructure to be in place prior to or in tandem with new development
LUP 3: Encourage redevelopment along underutilized commercial strip corridors and reinvestment in distressed residential neighborhoods.
• 3.1: Examine and identify targeted redevelopment and infill areas throughout the city
LUP 5: Improve gateways
• 5.1: Continue to require perimeter landscaping and planting islands in significant renovations and redevelopment along commercial corridors.
Consistency and Reasonableness Statements:
The Future Land Use Plan also sets forth written goals, policies, and strategies. This application does follow the City’s strategic, compatible growth strategies and does meet the goals of the Land Use Plan found on the attached Consistency and Reasonableness form.
Conclusion:
The use of the subject property as a convenience store with gasoline sales was permitted use in the M1 zoning district. While the M1 zoning district was a district intended for industrial development, the city’s ordinance at the time was based on hierarchical Euclidean zoning. With hierarchical Euclidean zoning, the uses permitted in a zoning district build on the uses permitted in the previous (less intense) zoning district. For example, convenience stores with gas would’ve been a permitted use in the C3 zoning district therefore, it was also permitted in the more intense M1 zoning district. With the adopt of the UDO, the zoning ordinance shifted away from a hierarchical model. The UDO has designated uses for each zoning district with limited overlap. With the adoption of the UDO, the use of the subject property as a convenience store with gasoline sales became a non-conforming use. The convenience store has been vacant since the second half of 2022 and the rezoning is needed in order to bring the use into compliance with the UDO and allow the structure to be occupied again. The proposed rezoning would address a non-conformity and allow for the redevelopment of a site that has been vacant for many years.
Budget Impact:
There is not an immediate budgetary impact but there will be an economic impact associated with this rezoning that will occur due to taxes collected in the future.
Options:
1. Approval of the map amendment to CC as presented based on the evidence submitted and finds that the rezoning is consistent with the Future Land Use Plan as demonstrated by the attached consistency and reasonableness statement (recommended).
2. Approval of the map amendment to a more restrictive zoning district based on the evidence submitted and finds that the map amendment would be consistent with the Future Land Use Plan and an amended consistency statement.
3. Denial of the map amendment request based on the evidence submitted and finds that the map amendment is inconsistent with the Future Land Use Plan.
Recommended Action:
The Zoning Commission and Professional Planning Staff recommend that the City Council move to APPROVE of the map amendment to CC based on the following:
• The proposed zoning map amendment implements the policies adopted in the Future Land Use Plan (FLUP), and those policies found in the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). The Future Land Use Plan calls for the subject property to be developed as Commercial Strip Redevelopment.
• The uses permitted by the proposed change in zoning district classification and standards apply to such uses are appropriate in the immediate area of the land to be reclassified due to the existing zoning and uses surrounding this property; and
• There are no other factors that will substantially affect public health, safety, morals, or general welfare.
Attachments:
1. Plan Application
2. Aerial Notification Map
3. Zoning Map
4. Land Use Plan Map
5. Subject Property
6. Surrounding Property Photos
7. Consistency and Reasonableness Statement
8. Powerpoint Presentation