Board approves rezoning request
By Steve Herring
Published in News on February 10, 2016 1:46 PM
MOUNT OLIVE -- A controversial rezoning request for county-owned property in the Mount Olive Industrial Park was approved by a 4-1 vote at the town board's Monday night session.
The vote, more than a year in the making, faced strong opposition -- including suggestions of possible legal action -- from residents in the nearby College Heights subdivision.
Those speaking against the rezoning did not appear to take any comfort in assurances from the board or county officials that they would be protected from onerous development by restrictive covenants on the property.
The decision followed a nearly two-hour public hearing where the residents and county officials made their case.
The county asked the town in November of 2014 to rezone 45.75 acres on U.S. 117 Alternate North from Agriculture to Industry-1 (heavy industry). The 45.75 acres adjoins a tract that that the county already owns that is zoned Industry-1.
But during a December 2014 public hearing, College Heights residents said that instead of developing the property the county should look at developing land to the east across the Old Mount Olive Highway from the Industrial Park and maybe southward because there are fewer residential areas.
Monday night, Commissioner Kenny Talton first offered up an amendment to zone the property Industry-2 or light industry. The motion died for lack of a second.
Commissioner Joe Scott then made the motion to approve the county's request receiving seconds from Commissioners Harlie Carmichael and Jerry Harper.
Chuck Allen, president of the Wayne County Development Alliance and mayor of Goldsboro, and Wayne County Commission vice chairman Bill Pate spoke in support of the rezoning.
Not having the property zoned could cost the county a potential new industry, they said.
Some interest already has been expressed in the property, Development Alliance President Crystal Gettys said.
The whole focus is creating jobs for the area, and without the rezoning the county cannot market the property, Allen said.
But several residents said they had yet to see much in the way of jobs because of the industrial park.
They also said the rezoning posed the real possibility of being "detrimental" to their quality of life as well as negatively affecting property values perhaps to the extent they would be unable to sell their property.
Several asked board members if they would want such possible development at their own back door.
Allen told residents they are not as protected as they might think they are in the agriculture-residential zone.
He said that the new zoning, combined with the covenants, would provide more protection than the agriculture-residential zone. The covenants are not just for the area being rezoned, but are for the entire industrial park, he said,
With an agriculture-residential zone any type of legitimate farming operation, including a swine operation, could be put there, Mayor Ray McDonald Sr. said.
Because of state legislation, the town has no authority to stop such a development, he said.
College Heights resident Steve Fritz said that despite Allen's comments that the agriculture-residential zone had been "perfectly fine" for decades.
Fritz said he had heard the county had bought the land thinking it was already zoned heavy industry, only to find out it wasn't. That is not the fault of the nearby property owners and that the lack of planning on the county's part does not constitute an emergency for residents in the subdivision, he said.
"Or they bought it with the idea that with a wink and a nod from this group (town board) they are going to get it rezoned the way they want it," he said. "Some of us think we can get a lawyer and fight this regardless of what this group does."
John Sykes, who also spoke against the rezoning at the first public hearing, renewed his opposition.
Rezoning the property would remove what amounts to a buffer between the subdivision and the existing heavy industry zone at the industrial park, he said.
He reminded the board that he had presented a petition signed by all of the subdivision residents at the first public hearing opposing the rezoning.
Board members said they sympathized with the residents, but that difficult decisions have to be made to help position the town to grow.