BY DEBBIE PAGE
During its September meeting, the Troutman Planning and Zoning Board recommended several zoning requests for approval by the Town Council and also endorsed a proposal to extend the time banners and signs can displayed for nonprofit events.
REZONING REQUESTS
♦ Charlotte Highway Rezoning Request: C2C Land Development is requesting annexation and rezoning of 20.675 acres, located on the west side of Charlotte Highway to the south of Flower House Loop, from Iredell County Residential Agricultural to Troutman Highway Business.
Developers may need a traffic impact analysis (TIA) for this vacant parcel once the use of the property is determined. If the use exceeds 100 peak-hour trips or 1,000 trips a day, a TIA will be required.
The Troutman Strategic Plan (2018) and accompanying Future Land Use Map do not include these county properties. When the map was drafted, these properties were located on the Mooresville side of the Annexation Boundary Agreement between Troutman and Mooresville. That agreement, amended this year, moves the line to include this property in Troutman’s area.
Because this is a traditional zoning request, Ventresca said no conditions or site plan are part of the request and the board must consider all uses permitted in the HB district as the potential use of the site. When the property is developed, the project will have to meet all requirements of the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO).
Ventresca said the requested zoning to the HB District is seen as being appropriate and consistent with the land use vision as contained within the current Troutman Strategic Plan and Future Land Use Map and is consistent with the zoning on adjacent properties.
Development with Town of Troutman utilities will require the properties to be annexed into the town.
Ventresca also cautioned that the UDO contains additional safeguards toward ensuring the quality of development on this site, which may not have been required if the property is developed within Iredell County’s jurisdiction.
The board unanimously recommended the zoning change to the Town Council, which is expected to consider the annexation and rezoning request at its October 9 meeting.
♦ South Main Street Rezoning Request: Darlene Payne is requesting rezoning of .56 acres at 508 South Main Street from Suburban Residential to the new Local Commercial (LC) designation, a newly created district intended to provide less intense commercial and service uses to the area in which it is located.
LC districts are allowed on major or minor thoroughfares or at crossroads not suitable for residential development. The LC District was established to fill a gap in the ordinance allowing for small scale commercial/service uses in areas where residential properties do not fit.
No site plan was submitted as a part of the rezoning request, which is not in the town limits but is in its extraterritorial jurisdiction jurisdiction (ETJ). All uses permitted in the LC district could potentially occur at the site.
Ventresca said the town’s 2022 Future Land Use Map contained within the Troutman Strategic Plan recommends that this site and its environs be developed for medium-density residential.
With this property being under an acre in area, located on a major thoroughfare, and in close proximity to Office-Institutional and Neighborhood-Center zoned properties, Ventresca said the new Local Commercial zoning fits the area.
The board voted unanimously to recommend the zoning change to the Town Council, which is expected to consider it at its October meeting.
PROPOSED SIGN CHANGE FOR NONPROFITS
Ventresca said that planning staff, at the direction of the Town Council, is requesting to amend the temporary signs section of the UDO, which currently allows temporary signs for not-for-profit events for a duration of 10 days prior to the occasion.
Town Council directed planning staff to extend the time allowed temporary signs for not-for-profit events to 30 days prior to the event, along with adding some size and location regulations.
The proposed amendment specifies one 3-foot-by-5-foot sign sign be allowed on the event premises for 30 days. Two banners no larger than 4 feet by 8 feet would be permitted for 30 days at the designated Town of Troutman locations and are required to be approved by Parks and Recreation staff before display.
The planning board unanimously recommended the changes to help nonprofits better market their events to the public.
UPDATES
♦ Ventresca said that council added funding for a new Comprehensive Land Use Plan in this year’s budget. His staff put out request for qualifications for a consultant to lead the process and received 10 bids.
The staff are now going through the bids to come up with a consensus on which consultant would be best to direct the undertaking and then will send their recommendation to the council for approval.
Ventresca said that some members of the Planning and Zoning Board may be asked to be on a steering committee for the process.
The current Comprehensive Land Use Plan from 2018 and Land Use Map from 2022 are already out of date, added Ventresca, and the need for a plan that reflects the current growth trends is pressing.
♦ Ventresca also noted a conditional zoning request is upcoming for a minimart on the southern vacant corner of State Park and Perth Road. The required community meeting for the project will be on Thursday, October 2, at 6 p.m. at Town Hall.