Planners sign off on rezoning

Kessler project advances

FAYETTEVILLE — Opening about 22 wooded acres north of Kessler Mountain to development jumped the Planning Commission hurdle Monday and will make its way to the City Council for approval.

Commissioners voted 8-1 to forward rezoning the acreage southwest of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Hanshew Road. The proposal would rezone most of 31-acres from an agricultural district to an urban thoroughfare.

An urban thoroughfare district allows a gamut of uses, from single family homes and apartment complexes to restaurants and hotels. Many other uses, such as outdoor music establishments or storage units, are allowed with a permit.

The property is owned by Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. A line of trees would buffer the southern end of the property, a total of about 9 acres. Within the rezoned tract would sit a proposed recreational vehicle resort for which the Planning Commission approved a permit in February. The resort, billed as high-end experience in a rustic setting, would take up about 7 ½ acres. Any development would go mostly along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

No one from the public spoke on the proposal Monday. A nearby property owner wrote to the city expressing concerns over the environmental impacts of development.

Commissioner Matt Johnson said rezoning would improve segments of narrow Hanshew Road and the overall feel of the area.

The city’s land use plan

designates the area for dense development of commercial and residential buildings. The location has become increasingly urban, such as with the connection of Rupple Road to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and the proposed zoning is appropriate, said Harry Davis, city planner.

Commissioner Tom Brown said he wholeheartedly agreed with the Planning Staff. Commissioner Rob Sharp was the only one to vote against the proposal. He didn’t say why.

In other business, commissioners unanimously rejected a rezoning for about 2 acres on Crossover Road south of Mission Boulevard. The proposal would take the property from single family homes to a district allowing a mix of residential and commercial uses.

Planning staff also recommended denying the proposal. The new zoning district would allow up to an 8,000-square-foot commercial building with homes on all sides, Davis said.

Richie Lamb with Lamb Development + Consulting said three- and four-family residences and general business uses were planned for the property. A stone home on the National Register of Historic Places called the Peter Smyth House wouldn’t be part of the plan, he said. Lamb proposed including a number of conditions on any development, such as building a 7-foot-tall wall in between the property and surrounding homes.

After substantial public comment, Lamb said developers on the project would be open to revising the plan to keep the Smyth House standing. The structure, built in 1886, has architectural significance, according to documents with the National Parks Service.

Commissioners tossed around tabling the request but ultimately voted against it. Kim Petrone was one of 14 residents, mostly from the Boardwalk Subdivision, who spoke against the rezoning. She gave the commission a slideshow presentation with pictures of get-togethers at the community clubhouse as a way to express the potential rezoning’s incompatibility with the neighborhood.

Other neighbors said a variety of commercial properties, including restaurants, shops and offices, exist within a short distance north at the intersection of Crossover Road and Mission Boulevard.

Lamb said no decision had been made on whether to appeal the decision to the City Council.