By Noelle Edwards
nedwards@salisburypost.com
The Salisbury Planning Board voted Tuesday to recommend rezoning land in Salisbury’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, right on the border of Rowan County territory.
The land is on the northwest corner of Statesville Boulevard and Enon Church Road.
The proposal was to rezone the approximately 2.1 acres from General Residential ó which allows only single-family homes ó to Residential Mixed Use, which would allow single-family homes, multifamily properties and offices.
A commercial building, such as a retail establishment or restaurant, could be built, but only up to 10,000 square feet and only with a special-use permit. Drive-through restaurants would not be allowed in any circumstance.
Preston Mitchell, the city’s senior planner, said zoning an area Residential Mixed Use, rather than a zoning that allows for more intense commercial development, allows neighbors greater involvement since a developer would have to go through a more extensive process to build a commercial property.
Residential Mixed Use zoning walks the boundary between residential and commercial, which Mitchell says is consistent with the Vision 2020 plan.
Mitchell recommended the rezoning of the land.
Claude Bruce, who lives in Forsyth County but grew up on the piece of land in question, requested the rezoning on behalf of his mother, who owns the land. Actually, he said, they want the land rezoned to honor his father, who died a few years ago.
He said his father always wanted to do something with the land.
But the request for rezoning isn’t accompanied by a plan for the land’s use, Mitchell said.
The Planning Board voted 9-0 to recommend the rezoning. Board members Tommy Hairston and Mark Beymer were absent from the meeting.
The planning board’s recommendation to approve the rezoning goes before the City Council at its Sept. 1 meeting.