TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Kelly Strickland - Assistant City Manager
Dr. Gerald Newton, AICP - Development Services Director
FROM: Craig Harmon - Senior Planner
Demetrios Moutos - Planner II
DATE: January 12, 2026
RE:Title
Approve P25-55: A request to rezone 4.21 acres at 3829 Distribution Drive, 3701 Distribution Drive, and an adjacent parcel (PINs 0429429042000, 0429510930000, and 0429511745000), owned by Healy Wholesale Co Inc., from Community Commercial (CC) to Light Industrial (LI).
Title
end
end
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
3 - Dr. Antonio Jones
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
The proposed rezoning for P25-55 - approximately 4.21 acres at 3701, 3829, and 0 Distribution Drive from Community Commercial (CC) to Light Industrial (LI) to accommodate continued and expanded wholesale/distribution operations - is broadly aligned with the City’s FY2025 Strategic Plan, mission, and vision. The request refocuses an existing commercial site in an established employment corridor toward long-term industrial use that better matches how the property functions today and how the Future Land Use Plan anticipates this part of the city evolving, particularly along the I-295 corridor where industrial, warehousing, and other employment-oriented uses are expected to locate and reinvest.
In relation to Goal I - Safe and Secure Community, the rezoning has an indirect but positive effect. Reinvestment in a purpose-built industrial facility, subject to LI development standards and coordinated Technical Review Committee review, should improve on-site circulation, loading, fire access, and lighting, which supports traffic and pedestrian safety and emergency response on and around Distribution Drive (Objectives 1.2 and 1.1). Keeping truck-intensive operations in an industrial context also reduces the likelihood of land-use conflicts that can generate calls for service in more mixed or residential settings, supporting the broader aim of maintaining a low incidence of property and violent crime (Objective 1.3).
The strongest relationship is with Goal II - Responsive City Government Supporting a Diverse and Viable Economy. The request helps maintain and potentially expand an existing wholesale/distribution employer on rail-adjacent land in a designated employment corridor, directly supporting a more diverse City tax base and job retention/creation (Objectives 2.1, 2.3, 2.4). Allowing LI uses here encourages private reinvestment in older commercial/industrial stock along a key corridor identified in the Future Land Use Plan as underutilized and poised for change, which is consistent with the Plan’s emphasis on leveraging underutilized land and channeling new growth to infrastructure-served employment areas along I-295.
The rezoning also directly advances Goal III - City Investment Planning. Goal III calls for managing the City’s future growth and strategic land use, and for sustaining a favorable development climate through timely review and inspection (Objectives 3.2 and 3.3). The Future Land Use Plan notes that the city currently has more commercially zoned land than true commercial activity, particularly in older strip corridors, and encourages repositioning such locations toward more appropriate, long-term uses like industrial/employment when market conditions support it. By matching the zoning to an established wholesale/distribution use in an employment corridor already served by City utilities and major transportation infrastructure, the request implements the Plan’s growth-management and revitalization framework while minimizing the need for costly new infrastructure expansions.
With respect to Goal IV - Highly Desirable Place to Live, Work, and Recreate, the rezoning is supportive but indirect. Goal IV focuses on mobility, a clean and attractive community, and strong neighborhoods (Objectives 4.3, 4.4, and 4.5). Concentrating truck-intensive and warehousing uses in a defined industrial/employment area helps shield nearby residential areas from incremental commercial encroachment and keeps higher-impact uses out of neighborhood-scale locations, which supports stable “great neighborhoods.” Where future site upgrades are proposed, LI standards can also deliver better buffering, landscaping, and stormwater treatments than the legacy commercial pattern, contributing to corridor appearance and environmental performance over time.
In terms of Goal V - Financially Sound City Providing Exemplary City Services, the rezoning supports long-term fiscal health. Goal V emphasizes aligning resources with City priorities and using data-driven decisions to maintain strong financial management (Objective 5.1). Allowing the site to continue and potentially expand in a higher-value industrial role makes more intensive use of existing streets, utilities, and public safety coverage instead of requiring new service areas, which supports efficient service delivery per dollar of tax base. Maintaining and strengthening an employment-oriented use in this corridor also helps sustain the industrial share of the local tax base that Goal II and the Future Land Use Plan both identify as critical to the City’s financial resilience.
Finally, Goal VI - Collaborative Citizen and Business Engagement Base is advanced procedurally through this case. The rezoning requires mailed notice, posted signage, public hearings, and coordination with multiple partners including the property owner, adjoining landowners, and agencies such as Fayetteville PWC, consistent with Goal VI’s focus on collaborative relationships, transparency, and informed public dialogue (Objectives 6.1-6.3). Using the Future Land Use Plan and Strategic Plan as decision-making tools in this corridor also demonstrates the City’s commitment to data-driven predictable land-use decisions, which is central to building trust and confidence in local government.
Taken together, the proposed rezoning is most directly aligned with Goals II and III, while also supporting Goals I, IV, V, and VI in more indirect ways. It leverages existing employment land, infrastructure, and private investment to advance the City’s mission of providing quality and sustainable public services for communities to thrive and businesses to grow, and its vision of a safe, prosperous, innovative, and unified city.
Executive Summary:
P25-55 is a request to rezone approximately 4.21 acres at 3829, 0, and 3701 Distribution Drive from Community Commercial (CC) to Light Industrial (LI) to allow the continued operation and redevelopment of the Healy Wholesale beer and wine distribution campus. The three parcels are currently developed with multiple distribution buildings that will be demolished and replaced with a more efficient and modern facility served by public water and sewer. The site is bordered by LI-zoned Healy Wholesale property to the northwest, an LI-zoned steel fabrication facility to the southeast, and a rail corridor with CC-zoned commercial and church uses beyond, with an SF-6 zoned manufactured home community across Distribution Drive. The Future Land Use Map designates the area as Employment Center, which supports light industrial and employment-oriented redevelopment, and the requested LI district would align the zoning and existing and planned industrial uses, improve site function and appearance, and is not expected to create isolated zoning or significant adverse impacts on surrounding properties.
On December 9, 2025, the Zoning Commission held a duly advertised public hearing and voted 5-0 to recommend approval of the requested rezoning, with adoption of a written consistency and reasonableness statement.
Background:
Owner: Healy Wholesale Co, Inc.
Applicant: Healy Wholesale Co, Inc. (with OAK Engineering, PLLC as agent)
Requested Action: Rezoning from CC (Community Commercial) to LI (Light Industrial)
REID #: 0429429042000, 0429510930000, 0429511745000
Status of Property: Developed with multiple warehouse and distribution buildings, paved yard, and associated parking areas used by Healy Wholesale Co, Inc. for beer and wine distribution operations. Existing buildings are proposed to be demolished to accommodate site redevelopment.
Acreage: ±4.21 acres
Surrounding Land Use & Zoning:
• North: SF-6 - Developed with a mobile home estate across Distribution Drive.
• Southeast: LI - Developed with a steel fabrication facility.
• Northwest: LI - Additional Healy Wholesale property with similar wholesale/distribution use.
• West/Rear: Rail right-of-way; beyond the rail corridor are a building supply company and several church properties zoned CC.
Letters Mailed: 47 - All property owners within 1,000 feet of the subject property received notice of the rezoning request, consistent with UDO public hearing requirements.
Land Use Plans and Policy Context
Following City Council’s adoption of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan: Future Land Use Map & Plan in 2020, all properties within the City of Fayetteville and its Municipal Influence Area (MIA) are guided by the land use policies and development framework established in that Plan. The 2040 Plan emphasizes focusing value and investment around existing infrastructure and strategic nodes, promoting compatible economic and commercial development, and encouraging reinvestment in aging corridors and employment areas.
The subject site and much of the Distribution Drive corridor are designated Employment Center (EC) on the Future Land Use Map, with nearby Low-Density Residential (LDR) and Neighborhood Improvement (NIR) areas reflecting adjacent mobile home and neighborhood contexts.
• Employment Center (EC): This designation is intended for concentrated employment areas that may include office, flex space, light manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution uses organized in campus-style or business park settings with good access to major corridors. These areas are envisioned as key economic nodes where infrastructure investment and compatible nonresidential intensification are encouraged to support job creation and a diversified tax base.
• Low-Density Residential (LDR) and Neighborhood Improvement (NIR): The LDR designation supports predominantly single-family neighborhoods at lower densities, while NIR areas are older or transitioning residential districts prioritized for infrastructure upgrades, neighborhood stabilization, and reinvestment to support long-term housing quality and neighborhood character.
Within this policy framework, the proposed rezoning from CC to LI represents an incremental intensification and modernization of an established wholesale/distribution operation in an Employment Center setting. The LI district is specifically intended to accommodate light manufacturing, assembly, distribution, storage, and related industrial uses with minimal off-site impacts, aligning the zoning with the site’s long-standing function and the FLUM’s economic development vision for the Distribution Drive corridor.
Issues/Analysis:
Surrounding Area and Development Pattern
The subject properties are part of an existing wholesale and light industrial cluster along Distribution Drive. The site is currently zoned Community Commercial (CC) but is developed with multiple buildings used by Healy Wholesale for beer and wine distribution. Immediately southeast, an adjacent steel fabrication facility is zoned Light Industrial (LI), and the tract to the northwest is another Healy Wholesale property already zoned LI, so the request would extend an existing LI district rather than introduce a new one.
To the rear, the site is bounded by a rail right-of-way; on the far side of the tracks are a building supply business and church properties, all zoned CC. Across Distribution Drive is a mobile home estate zoned SF-6, representing the primary nearby residential presence. The broader zoning pattern within the 1,000-foot notification area includes additional LI, Heavy Industrial (HI), and CC to the south and west, with SF-6, SF-10, and MR-5 residential districts further out, reinforcing the role of this corridor as a transition between industrial employment uses and established neighborhoods.
Given this context, the requested LI zoning is consistent with the predominant functional character of the corridor - wholesale, fabrication, and other light industrial operations - with residential uses located primarily across a collector street and behind existing commercial/industrial parcels rather than directly abutting the subject site.
History and Current Use of the Subject Properties
The application notes that the site is developed with multiple existing buildings currently used by Healy Wholesale for beer and wine distribution, and that these buildings are proposed to be demolished as part of a redevelopment of the property. The properties have not been the subject of a map amendment in the last five years.
In practice, the current use already functions as a distribution/warehouse operation, which is more closely aligned with the stated purpose of the LI district than with the retail- and service-oriented intent of the CC district. The CC district is intended to accommodate a diverse range of medium- to high-intensity retail, service, and office uses that serve the broader community along major corridors, with higher-density residential as part of mixed-use patterns. The LI district, by contrast, is intended to accommodate light manufacturing, processing, distribution, storage, and similar industrial uses that have minimal adverse environmental and visual impacts, and allows warehousing and distribution with limited supporting retail.
The request therefore formalizes the zoning to match the long-standing wholesale/distribution function of the site and supports its redevelopment as a more efficient, modern facility, rather than introducing a new use type.
Future Land Use Plan and Policy Context
The Future Land Use Map for case P25-55 identifies the subject tract within an area that includes an Employment Center (EC) designation, alongside nearby Park/Open Space, Low Density Residential (LDR), Neighborhood Improvement/Reinvestment (NIR), and Neighborhood Mixed Use (NMU) character areas within the broader 1,000-foor buffer. The EC designation encompasses key industrial and employment nodes and is explicitly supported by citywide policies that encourage economic development in “Industrial / Employment Areas” and other designated centers.
The Future Land Use Plan’s policies emphasize:
• Encouraging growth in areas well served by infrastructure and urban services, and using the Future Land Use Map as a guide for infrastructure expansion and more intense uses.
• Encouraging economic development in industrial / employment areas and discouraging large-scale residential rezonings that would impact prime industrial sites.
• Identifying opportunity sites for manufacturing and related industries based on transportation access, nearby land uses, and environmental constraints.
The subject properties are already served by public water and sewer and have direct access to Distribution Drive in proximity to major transportation infrastructure. The existing wholesale/distribution use is precisely the type of employment-oriented activity contemplated in the Employment Center character area. Aligning the base zoning with LI helps implement the plan’s call to “promote sound development patterns” by matching zoning to the desired long-term industrial/employment function of these parcels.
In addition, the Future Land Use Plan includes a suitability analysis that specifically identifies focal commercial and industrial nodes based on proximity to compatible uses and major intersections or interchanges. The Distribution Drive corridor fits that pattern, and retaining and strengthening it as an employment node through LI zoning is consistent with that analysis.
Consistency and Reasonableness
1. Plan Consistency
• The request is consistent with the Future Land Use Plan by reinforcing an Employment Center node with a long-standing wholesale/distribution use, in line with policies that encourage strategic economic development in industrial/employment areas and support quality development in locations already served by infrastructure.
• It is also consistent with policies discouraging residential encroachment into prime industrial sites, because it does not introduce new residential intensity into the EC area; instead, it preserves and enhances a key employment use.
2. Compatibility with Surrounding Uses and Zoning
• The properties immediately southeast and northwest are already zoned LI and used for industrial and wholesale purposes. Converting the subject parcels from CC to LI creates a contiguous industrial zoning pattern rather than an isolated district, and continues a logical industrial transition adjacent to the rail line and away from deeper residential areas.
• Across Distribution Drive, the SF-6 zoned mobile home community remains separated from the industrial cluster by the public right-of-way, existing setbacks, and the ability to require buffering and screening under the UDO. The LI dimensional standards further protect residential areas by requiring increased side setbacks (100 feet) and a reduced height limit (50 feet) when abutting a residential zoning district.
3. Orderly Development Pattern and Community Need
• The applicant indicates that rezoning will allow the site to be redeveloped so it functions more efficiently and presents a more attractive appearance. As a long-standing wholesale/distribution operation in an identified industrial/employment node, reinvestment here supports job retention, modernizes facilities, and makes more efficient use of a rail-adjacent site.
• The request does not expand urban services or extend utilities into new areas; rather, it leverages existing infrastructure in a location expressly identified in the Future Land Use Plan for employment uses and targeted economic development.
4. Environmental and Property Value Impacts
• The applicant asserts that the proposed design will reduce impervious surface area and increase vegetation, which suggests a modest improvement in stormwater performance and site aesthetics compared with the existing condition.
• Because surrounding properties are zoned and used similarly, and the request formalizes the site’s industrial character instead of introducing a new, more intensive use type, adverse impacts on surrounding property values are unlikely.
5. Strip Development and Spot Zoning Considerations
• The site is internal to a larger wholesale/industrial cluster and is not a standalone outparcel on a commercial strip. The request therefore does not promote strip-style commercial development.
• Because adjoining properties along the corridor are already zoned LI, the amendment would expand an existing LI area instead of creating an isolated “spot” of industrial zoning unrelated to adjacent districts.
Conclusion
On balance, the proposed rezoning from CC to LI for 3829, 0, and 3701 Distribution Drive is consistent with the Future Land Use Plan’s Employment Center designation and supporting policies, aligns the zoning with the existing wholesale/distribution use and surrounding LI-zoned properties, uses existing infrastructure efficiently, and does not create an isolated zoning district or strip-style pattern. The request represents a logical, orderly, and reasonable refinement of the zoning map that supports strategic economic development while maintaining appropriate separation and protections for nearby residential uses.
Budget Impact:
Approval or denial of the requested rezoning is not expected to create a direct, immediate impact on the City’s operating or capital budgets. The applicant has paid the required $1,000 map amendment fee, and there are no additional application or review fees outstanding for this request.
Any future budget considerations associated with redevelopment of the site - such as potential utility extensions, transportation improvements, or other public infrastructure - would be evaluated through separate processes (e.g., site plan/TRC review and the City’s capital planning and annual budget cycles) and are not triggered by the map amendment itself. Incremental changes in property tax revenue and utility revenues resulting from a more intensive industrial redevelopment of the subject properties are anticipated to be positive but have not been quantified at this stage.
The application materials submitted for this case are consistent with the City’s adopted Map Amendment Submittal Requirements.
Options:
Following the legislative public hearing, the City Council shall, by majority vote of a quorum present, adopt a written recommendation for one of the following actions, in accordance with Section §30-2.C.1, Map Amendment (Rezoning) Standards:
1. Denial of the Application
• Deny the request to rezone approximately 4.21 acres at 3829, 0, and 3701 Distribution Drive from CC (Community Commercial) to LI (Light Industrial).
2. Approval of a Rezoning to a More Restricted Base Zoning District
• Approve a rezoning to a more restricted base zoning district than LI, if Council determines that a different district better addresses compatibility, plan consistency, and the Map Amendment Standards.
3. Approval of the Application with a Reduction in Area
• Approve the rezoning with a reduction in the total area included in Case P25-55, if Council finds that limiting the rezoning to a portion of the subject property better addresses compatibility, transition to adjacent zoning, or site-specific concerns.
4. Approval of the Application as Submitted
• Approve the rezoning of the full ±4.21-acre site from CC to LI as requested.
For any of the above actions, City Council must also adopt a written statement that:
• Describes whether the decision is consistent with all applicable City-adopted plans, including the Future Land Use Plan and FY2025 Strategic Plan;
• Explains why the decision is reasonable and in the public interest, with reference to the standards in Section 30-2.C.1 and the analysis presented for Case P25-55.
Recommended Action::Recommended Action
The Professional Planning Staff and the Zoning Commission recommend that City Council approve the proposed map amendment from Community Commercial (CC) to Light Industrial (LI) for approximately 4.21 acres located at 3829, 0, and 3701 Distribution Drive (Healy Wholesale Co., Inc.), based on the following findings:
• Policy Consistency: The Future Land Use Plan identifies this area as an Employment Center, which is intended to accommodate office, industrial, warehousing, and distribution uses in locations already served by robust transportation and utility infrastructure. The LI district directly implements this designation by formalizing and reinvesting in an existing wholesale/distribution operation within an established employment corridor, consistent with land use policies that focus value and investment around infrastructure and strategic nodes and promote compatible economic and commercial development in key areas. The request also advances the FY2025 Strategic Plan’s goals for a diverse and viable economy (Goal II) and city investment planning (Goal III) by supporting reinvestment, job retention, and tax-base growth in a designated employment area.
• Contextual Appropriateness: The rezoning is contextually appropriate given the existing and surrounding land use pattern along Distribution Drive. The subject property is already developed and operated as a beer and wine distribution campus, is flanked by other LI-zoned industrial uses to the northwest and southeast, and is buffered at the rear by a rail corridor and additional commercial/industrial properties, with residential uses located across Distribution Drive on the opposite side of the street. The LI district includes enhanced setback and separation standards where industrial uses abut residential zoning, which, together with Article 30-5 Development Standards, will help ensure that any redevelopment of the site remains compatible with nearby homes and maintains appropriate visual and operational buffers.
• Public Interest: The proposed map amendment serves the public interest by allowing the modernization and more efficient redevelopment of a long-standing local distribution business within a fully serviced employment corridor, thereby supporting job retention, potential employment growth, and continued private investment in the City’s industrial tax base. Because the site is already served by public water and sewer and is located near existing major transportation infrastructure, the rezoning leverages prior public investment rather than requiring new extensions of urban services, in line with adopted land use and strategic planning guidance.
end
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