03/01/06 — Fremont OKs subdivision, rezoning

View Archive

Fremont OKs subdivision, rezoning

By Jack Stephens
Published in News on March 1, 2006 1:48 PM

FREMONT -- The Fremont town board quickly passed four matters, including a subdivision request, with no opposition and little comment after public hearings during Tuesday night's monthly meeting in Town Hall.

The board agreed to let a developer subdivide property into 10 residential lots on North Sycamore Street between Pippin and Harrell streets.

The developer, Phil Harley, said the homes, about 1,200 square feet, would be ideal for first-time buyers or retirees.

Town Administrator Kerry McDuffie said no new utilities or streets would be needed.

The board agreed to rezone property next to the Dollar General store from industrial to highway business after the Planning Board approved the change.

Since the approval, McDuffie said the developer decided not to go forward with his plans. But McDuffie recommended that the board rezone the property because there would be more opportunity for it to be developed.

To avoid "spot zoning," McDuffie also recommended that the Dollar General store at 609 S. Wilson St. be rezoned from industrial to highway business. He said the owners approved of the change. The board also approved it.

The board adopted a request by the Planning Board to change the number of off-street parking places for new businesses from 0.7 spaces for every 100 square feet of floor space to one space for every 250 feet.

McDuffie explained that if Dollar General had to conform to the existing regulation, it would need 49 spaces. With the new requirement, it would need 28 spaces.

McDuffie had suggested to the Planning Board that one parking space be required for every 350 square feet. If it had been adopted, the Dollar General store would have needed its current 20 spaces.

In other business, the board:

*Passed a resolution to ask the Department of Transportation to increase the turning radius at North Wilson and Carolina streets, U.S. 117 and N.C. 222, so that tractor-trailer trucks can turn without blocking the streets. McDuffie said the DOT needed the resolution in order to get funding for the project.