By Natalie Anderson
natalie.anderson@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — City Council members will vote Oct. 5 on the rezoning of a parcel on Faith Road that will exempt developers from setback requirements for a future Goodwill store.

In February, City Council members held a public hearing and approved rezoning a 1.71-acre parcel located on Faith Road from urban residential and corridor mixed-use to corridor mixed-use only for the development of an 11,500-square-foot Goodwill retail store. The parcel, 070-012, is located within 417-425 Faith Road as well as 112 Dunham Ave., near the Innes Street Market shopping center and an Aldi grocery store.

Bill Haymore of Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina is now requesting the rezoning of one parcel located at 475 Faith Road from corridor mixed use to corridor mixed use with a conditional district overlay. The request is to allow the design plan to exceed the maximum 75-feet setback in order to meet other requirements for the store’s frontage and drive-thru drop-off area. The city’s Technical Review Committee on Aug. 19 recommended approving the request to allow a 100-foot setback to the right-of-way off Faith Road and a 110-foot front setback to the right-of-way off Dunham Avenue.

During the February meeting, Haymore did not state when the store might open.

No one spoke during a Tuesday City Council meeting during the public comment period for the rezoning request, but comments are accepted up to 24 hours following the close of the public hearing at Tuesday’s meeting. Comments can be submitted to City Clerk Kelly Baker at kbake@salisburync.gov or at 704-638-5233.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting:

• Council members approved a two-year extension to the previously approved ordinance 2019-52 for the third phase of RoMed Medical Center. There are no changes to the plan, which includes rezoning a 1.03-acre property at 1027 Lincolnton Road from general residential to residential mixed-use with a conditional district overlay to develop a two-story medical office center measuring 16,148 square feet. The plans were approved in Sept. 2019.

• The council adopted a resolution setting the date of a public hearing for Oct. 19 for the purpose of a voluntary annexation request from Grants Landing, parcels 460-152 and 462-006, which total about 77 acres. City Council members in August approved the development of Grants Landing, which will be a 236-home development adjacent to the existing Forest Glen subdivision on Mooresville Road.

• Council members approved a sidewalk encroachment at 117 East Innes St., where Smoke Pit’s downtown site was located, to install an ADA-accessible ramp in the right-of-way. The ramp would be constructed by Salisbury-based LMY, Inc., and run along the front of the building parallel to Innes Street, measuring 12 feet, 10 inches long. A similar ramp was approved and installed on the westernmost entrance of the building in 2017, and this ramp would be located at the eastern-most entrance.

• Council members dedicated two tracts of land as public rights-of-way for Military Avenue. A memo from the city’s engineering department states the city purchased property in 1998 for new alignment of Military Avenue, but some parcels were never dedicated as public rights-of-way and therefore have no frontage on a public street. The request is for tracts 3 and 4 on Map Book 9995, page 3149, which are also identified as parcels 015-398 and 015-399.

• The council approved the purchase of cellular data service with Badger Meter, Inc. for Salisbury-Rowan Utilities’ advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system. SRU’s water meters use cellular data each day to report readings, and Badger Meter hosts and manages this service for 81 cents per month per meter. The estimated cost to the city for this purchase is $218,321, which was allocated in the 2021-22 budget.

• Council members adopted a resolution authorizing the upset bid process for the sale of parcel 007-164 in the 1700 block of North Long St. Rowan Funeral Services, Inc., has offered $800 for the property measuring 0.32 acres with an assessed tax value of $19,872. The parcel is owned by the city and located adjacent to the railroad with no road frontage.

Rowan Funeral Services has put up the required 5% bid deposit, and the upset bid process of 10 days began upon council’s approval. The offer will be published for 10 days, and during this period, upset bids may be submitted. Bids must raise the current offer by at least 10% of the first $1,000 of that offer and 5% of the remainder. The process continues until 10 days passes without receiving a qualifying upset bid, with city council receiving notice of the final offer to accept or reject the offer.

• Council members reappointed Krista Osterweil and Cyndi Greenwood, who both represent lodging establishments on Klumac Road, to the Rowan Tourism Development Authority Board for additional two-year terms.

• During the public comment period, Emily Rivers spoke about her concerns of rising gun violence crimes and suggested more educational training and awareness about gun safety and keeping them out of the hands of youths.

Rivers also expressed concern for city council moving forward with hiring a new city manager when Lane Bailey retires in December without consideration of Assistant Manager Zack Kyle, who began in 2014 before Bailey’s arrival. She suggested the council stick with someone who’s “already here and knows the heartbeat of the city.”

Rivers also questioned local law enforcement’s use of force on Stephanie Bottom, a 68-year Black woman from Georgia who says officers drew their guns, pulled her out of the car by her hair and tore her rotator cuff at the end of a 14-mile chase on Interstate 85 in 2019. Rivers said she was concerned with not hearing much about it and that Bottom wasn’t treated with the same level of respect and care as Commissioner Craig Pierce, who was arrested in June for driving while intoxicated.

• Council member Tamara Sheffield requested a return to quarterly finance reports during council meetings to keep dealings with Hotwire “at the top of mind.” The city is expected to completely pay off its lease with Hotwire, which maintains the city’s broadband, in 2029.

Contact reporter Natalie Anderson at 704-797-4246.