06JunePBPage 1 of 10 6/4/2024
June 4, 2024
1. Call to Order of the Randolph County Planning Board.
There was a meeting of the Randolph County Planning Board on June 4, 2024, at 6:30 PM in Meeting Room A, Randolph County Office Building, 725 McDowell Rd, Asheboro, NC. Chairman Pell called the meeting to order and welcomed those in attendance. Pell
reminded those in attendance that the Planning Board Rules of Procedure state that
anyone wishing to speak must sign up to speak and that speakers other than the applicant are limited to three minutes.
2. Roll call of the Board members. (Completed by staff.)
The County Planning staff completed the roll call of the members of the Board as they
arrived to the meeting. Reid Pell, Ken Austin, Brandon Hedrick, Kemp Davis, Melinda
Vaughan, Reggie Beeson, John Cable and Susan Thompson were present. County Planning Director Tonya Caddle and County Attorney Ben Morgan were also present, along with County Planning staff members Kayla Brown, Melissa Burkhart, David Harris, Cory Hartsoe, Kim Heinzer, Tim Mangum, and Eric Martin.
3. Consent Agenda:
● Approval of agenda for the June 4, 2024, Planning Board meeting.
● Approval of the minutes from the May 16, 2024, Planning Board meeting.
Pell called for a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented.
On the motion of Cable, seconded by Beeson, the Board voted 7-0 to approve the
Consent Agenda as presented.
4. Conflict of Interest:
● Are there any Conflicts of Interest or ex parte communication that should be
disclosed? (If there is a Conflict of Interest, the Board must vote to allow the
member with the Conflict of Interest to not participate in the hearing of the
specific case where the Conflict of Interest has been identified.)
There were no Conflicts of Interest or ex parte communication identified by any Planning Board member.
5. Old Business.
There was no old business for the Planning Board to consider.
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6. New Business.
SPECIAL USE PERMIT REQUEST #2024-00001019
The Randolph County Planning Board will hold a duly published and notified
Quasi-judicial Hearing on the request by ROSA MUNOZ, Ramseur, NC, and their request to obtain a Special Use Permit at 545 NC Hwy 22 N, Columbia Township, Tax ID #8702043017, 37.11 acres, RR - Residential Restricted and RA - Residential Agricultural District. It is the desire of the applicant to
obtain a Special Use Permit to specifically allow a third home on the
property for a family member.
Caddle presented the first case of the night and site plans for the Munoz Special Use
Permit Request. Pell opened the public hearing and explained that anyone wishing to speak during the Special Use Permit Request must be sworn in.
Morgan administered the oath to Rosa Munoz, the applicant. Rosa Munoz, 545 NC Hwy 22 N, Ramseur, explained to the Board that she wants to obtain a Special Use Permit to allow a family member to place a home on her
property since land is so hard to find. She said they are planning to place a double-
wide mobile home on the property. Beeson asked if this home would use the same driveway and Munoz stated that a new driveway would be installed.
Cable asked if this was a direct family member. Munoz answered yes. Hedrick asked if the home would be placed on a permanent foundation. Munoz answered yes.
Austin asked if there would be a driveway permit. Caddle said the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) would require a driveway permit. Pell asked if there were any additional questions from the Board. Hearing none, Pell
closed the public hearing for discussion or a motion. Hedrick stated the front of the property is zoned RR - Residential Restricted District and asked if the request would meet that zoning designation. Caddle answered yes.
Morgan explained to Munoz that she would not be able to sell the property without coming back before the Board. Munoz said she understood and did not plan to sell the property or the lot.
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Cable stated that the request meets the four-part test for a Special Use Permit as he read them.
On the motion of Cable, seconded by Hedrick, with a vote of 7-0, the Board voted to
approve the request with the motions contained in the Planning Board packet.
REZONING REQUEST #2024-00000928
The Randolph County Planning Board will hold a duly published and notified Legislative Hearing on the request by GREGORY BENNETT, Liberty, NC, and their request to rezone 5.51-acres on Andrew Hunter Rd, Franklinville Township, Tax ID #7781799897, Primary Growth Area, from RR -
Residential Restricted District and RA - Residential Agricultural
District to HC - Highway Commercial District. It is the desire of the applicant to rezone the property to allow any uses allowed by right in the HC -
Highway Commercial District.
Caddle presented the next case of the night, the Gregory Bennett Rezoning Request and the site plans.
Pell opened the public hearing and called for Gregory Bennett to address the
Planning Board. Gregory Bennett, 7509 Old 421 Rd, Liberty, explained to the Board that he is requesting HC - Highway Commercial District zoning to allow retail sales for any type
for the future tenant of the building. He said when he came before the Board in 2023,
the neighbors' concerns were manufacturing operations and pollution. He said he is not asking for manufacturing, only the uses allowed within the HC zoning district. Caddle said the original request for HC zoning was in March 2023, and it has been
over one year, and Bennett is allowed to request the zoning change again.
Pell asked if there were any questions from the Board. Davis asked if there were any changes to this request from the previous request.
Bennett said everything was the same. Davis asked who owns the property between
the request and US Hwy 64 East. Bennett said Clayton Sommer owned the property. Bennett also stated that there is a retail shop across the road from his request. Austin asked if he had been in contact with any of the neighbors regarding his
request. Bennett said he has talked with Susan Richards, who is currently using his
land for her horses to graze. He said she is opposed because it is a business. Hedrick asked if he had considered an optional Conditional District. Bennett said he would hate to plan for a specific use and in just a few months must change the
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conditions for another type of use. He said it would become a financial strain to have to come back to the Planning Board to change the Conditional District Permit. He also said there are commercial uses surrounding the area due to the location and proximity to US Hwy 64 East.
Austin asked Bennett if he lived in the neighborhood. Bennett said he used to live beside the property, but now his sister lives there. Austin asked how he would describe the neighborhood. Bennett said there was a retail business across the road, then a house, and another house that had been converted into a church.
Kemp asked if his sister owned the first property next to the request and then his property. Bennett answered yes and stated that the only adjoining property owners were Sommer, Richards, himself, and his sister.
Cable asked if his sister lived on the property. Bennett answered yes.
Beeson said he has concerns about this property being HC right behind a residence.
Hedrick suggested moving forward to hear the opposition's comments.
Pell asked if there were any questions from the Board.
Hearing none, he asked Susan Richards to come forward.
Susan Richards, 207 Andrew Hunter Rd, Asheboro, distributed Exhibit #1 to the Planning Board and stated that she had e-mailed the Planning Department staff to ask questions and better understand buffers and conditions, etc. (See Exhibit #1 at the end of these minutes.) Richards stated she has a great relationship with Bennett
and has no problems other than her property will be ten feet from the HC district if Bennett were to sell or lease the property and that she would be directly impacted by request. Richards stated that she and Bennett differ on buffers and fencing, and she is concerned that the multiple uses that could be allowed would destroy her way of life and harm her animals. Richards time expired at this point.
Pell asked Bennett if he wanted to address the Board, and he stated that Richards thinks she needs a buffer, and he was willing to put a buffer on his property. Davis stated that this is a straight rezoning request and that the Board cannot require
the buffer and that this is the problem with a straight rezoning request. Davis said this request backs up to residences in the area and also encroaches on agricultural areas and that the Planning Board has no way to control the possible eighty-four uses. Davis concluded by saying that Bennett may have the best intentions, but the Board needs to think about the neighbors.
Bennett discussed several of the eighty-four uses that are allowed in the HC district.
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Davis stated that some of the potential uses can have bad impacts on the area, but that he does understand what Bennett wants, but the Board has to look at both sides.
Pell asked if there were any other questions from the Planning Board.
Beeson said that most uses in the HC district are sales, but a few are not, and they are alarming and could create a lot of traffic on Andrew Hunter Rd.
Hedrick stated that he appreciated Bennett being approachable to neighbors.
Pell closed the Public Hearing.
Austin referred to the statement by Richards and other statements included in the
agenda pack, it showed that the neighbors had done tremendous amounts of
research and laid out their concerns, and he wanted to thank everyone for submitting the written comments. Austin stated that straight rezoning requests are difficult for the Planning Board in a request like this because they do not know the type of structures that could be within the minimum ten-foot side setbacks. Austin said that
he thought the Board needed to look at this request and understand what they would
be doing before making a final decision. Hedrick turned to the Technical Review Committee (TRC) recommendation to approve this request. Hedrick stated that this area was discussed during the Growth
Management Plan update and that the update did recognize that certain zoning districts could be used without Conditional District Permits, but he felt that this request would be better with a site plan and a Conditional District Permit and that the use could be good with the right site plan, but since this is a straight rezoning request, the Planning Board had to consider all possible uses.
Cable said that he usually votes for progress and is pro-growth, but that he also takes a strong view of the potential impact to the neighbors. Cable stated that it looked like this request may put a hardship on neighbors that are near it and that people should be able to do what they want with their property as long as it does not
encroach on other people's property and devalue their property. Davis asked if the application was denied tonight, would Bennett have to wait another year and Caddle said that he would have to wait one year if he submitted the same application or Bennett could submit an application for a Conditional District and
come back to the Planning Board as soon as it could be scheduled. Davis said that Bennett could continue with the current request or withdraw the request and Caddle said that the Planning Board could make a decision tonight and the decision could then be appealed to the Board of County Commissioners.
Austin said that the lot between Bennett's property and US Hwy 64 East is a different
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property owned by someone else. Davis stated that the Planning Board is looking at the same request from 2023 and nothing has changed, and the applicant has come back with no site plan even after
being requested to submit a site plan during the 2023 public hearing.
On the motion of Davis, seconded by Cable, with a vote of 7-0, the Board voted
to deny the request with the motions contained in the Planning Board packet.
REZONING REQUEST #2024-00000001
The Randolph County Planning Board will hold a duly published and notified Legislative Hearing on the request by RESCUE RESIDENTIAL,
LLC, Trinity, NC, and their request to rezone 0.68-acres at 5868 US Hwy
311, New Market Township, Randleman Lake Protected Area Watershed, Tax ID #7745379293, Primary Growth Area, from O-I-CD - Office and
Institutional - Conditional District to RR - Residential Restricted District. It is the desire of the applicant to rezone the property to allow any uses allowed
by right in the RR - Residential Restricted District.
Caddle presented the Rescue Residential, LLC, Rezoning Request, and the site
plans. Pell opened the public hearing and asked Caddle to explain the request. Caddle said it was her understanding that the applicant wants to take the property zoning back to RR - Residential Restrict District to allow residential use of the property.
Beeson stated that he goes by the site quite frequently and the house has been remodeled and looks much better. Austin stated that he thought the property also looked better.
Hedrick stated that the site looks better and is more consistent with the surrounding land uses. Pell closed the public hearing.
On the motion of Cable, seconded by Austin, with a vote of 7-0, the Board voted to
approve the request with the motions contained in the Planning Board packet.
REZONING REQUEST #2024-00022002
The Randolph County Planning Board will hold a duly published and notified Legislative Hearing on the request by MICHAEL & TERESA BRIGGS, Julian, NC, and their request to rezone 31.79-acres on Old 421
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Rd, Liberty Township, Tax ID #8727786650, Primary Growth Area, from RA
- Residential Agricultural District to LI - Light Industrial District. It is the
desire of the applicant to rezone the property to allow any uses allowed by right in the LI - Light Industrial District.
Caddle presented the Briggs Rezoning Request and the site plans.
Pell opened the public hearing.
Michael Briggs, 3161 Alamance Church Rd, Julian, the applicant, addressed the
Planning Board and stated that he bought the property in anticipation of the expansion of the Pallett Express business which is next door to this request. Pell asked if there were any questions from the Board members.
Davis asked Briggs if he planned to build on the property and Briggs replied that the property would be used for storage only. Pell asked if there were any other questions from the Planning Board.
Clanci Foxx, 5005 Liberty Grove Rd, Liberty, rose to address the Planning Board and stated that she is a neighbor to Pallett Express, and she is no stranger to living next to LI-zoned property. Foxx said that she has had to deal with dust, noise, and light pollution since Pallett Express moved to its current location. Foxx stated that the
Randolph County Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), states that, "The purpose of the Light Industrial (LI) District is to provide a place for light industrial warehousing and distribution, and sales of large-item products." Foxx stated that Pallett Express is not a LI use but more of a Heavy Industrial (HI) use as they use heavy-duty grinders to grind pallets into dust and if the operation expands it will continue to be a HI use
and the neighbors will suffer, and they are asking the Planning Board to deny the request until the company is brought into zoning compliance in the LI district. Foxx concluded her remarks by saying the Pallett Express is not a good neighbor, and they are 400 feet away from her residence, and that she did not have problems with other uses as long as they were compliant with the UDO.
Cable asked Foxx if she had notified the Planning and Zoning staff about these issues and Foxx stated that she had not filed a formal complaint. Cable stated that the staff and Code Enforcement are complaint-driven. Morgan stated that Pallett Express did not have to get a permit to open the operation. Foxx stated that they
tried to handle their issues with Briggs. Joe Moore, 5007 Liberty Grove Rd, Liberty, stated that he wakes up every morning at 6:00 am with Pallett Express starting their grinding operation. Moore stated that the operation is usually five days a week, but some weeks it can be six or seven
days a week. Moore stated that the grinding sounds like it is in his backyard and that
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it creates a lot of noise and the thought of this operation expanding is horrifying.
Pell asked if there were any questions from the Planning Board for Briggs.
Cable asked about the noise complaints and that it goes on for seven days a week.
Caddle said the property under consideration is being requested for straight rezoning and they could do any of the approved LI uses.
Pell closed the public hearing.
Hedrick stated that other industrial sites can also create noise. On the motion of Austin, seconded by Hedrick, with a vote of 6-1, Davis voting no,
the Board voted to approve the request with the motions contained in the Planning
Board packet.
REZONING REQUEST #2024-00001244
The Randolph County Planning Board will hold a duly published and notified Legislative Hearing on the request by PREMIER REAL ESTATE TEAM INC, Kannapolis, NC, and their request to rezone 2.11-acres on Zoo Parkway, Union Township, Tax ID #7657963715, Primary Growth Area,
from RR - Residential Restricted District and RA - Residential Agricultural
District to CVOE-CD - Conventional Subdivision Overlay Exclusive -
Conditional District. The proposed Conditional Zoning District would specifically allow the division of lot number three to create a fourth lot.
Caddle presented the Premier Real Estate Team, Inc Rezoning Request, and the site plans.
Pell opened the public hearing Ricky Scott, 1425 Mohican Ave, Richfield, the applicant, rose to address the Planning Board. Pell asked if Scott had anything to add to the case excluding the information that Caddle had already provided. Scott stated that they want to divide
the property and build a house on each proposed lot. Scott stated that the property does have access to Seagrove-Ulah Metropolitan Water District public water, and they want to make the area nicer. Pell asked if there were any questions from the Planning Board.
Davis asked if the property has access to public water and Scott stated that the property does have public water. Davis asked if the property had a well and Scott replied that it did not have a well. Davis asked Scott if he was going to live on the property and Scott replied that he would not live on the property.
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Beeson asked about the location of the house on proposed lot number four and Scott said that the house would be placed wherever it needed to be placed. Scott said that NCDOT has approved the driveway location, and he would be working with
them to resolve any problems.
Pell asked if there were any questions from the Planning Board.
Larry Baucom, 3051 Happy Hollow Rd, Asheboro, addressed the Planning Board
and stated he is opposed to the request as it does not fit in with the existing
development. Baucom said that most of the homes in this area are single-family residences on large acreage, and he has concerns about the number of driveways along Happy Hollow Rd. Baucom concluded his remarks by saying the NCDOT needs to be involved with the site distance at the intersection.
Pell asked if there were any questions from the Planning Board.
Pell closed the public hearing
Austin stated that NCDOT will approve the driveway location and that is outside the
control of the Planning Board.
Hedrick asked about the road frontage on proposed lot number four and Caddle said that as long as it meets the 100-foot width requirement, it should be fine but that staff
would check on the final plat.
Hedrick said that he was concerned that the lot was going to be narrow.
Austin said that NCDOT may have problems making proposed lot number four
accessible.
Davis said that the applicant still needs to have the property checked for septic systems.
On the motion of Hedrick, seconded by Beeson, with a vote of 7-0, the Board voted
to reopen the public hearing to allow the applicant to address the concerns of the
Planning Board.
Scott stated that there are already two driveways there, and he would just be adding
one more driveway and that they are working with NCDOT. Scott stated that the proposal meets the minimum requirements of the UDO as both lots are at least 100 feet and there are only two lots, unlike the other subdivisions in the area.
Davis asked about the type of houses planned for the lots and Scott said they would
be site-built homes, and it would be something that they would be willing to own and reside in.
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Pell asked if there were any questions from the Planning Board.
Baucom stated that the proposal is going from three lots to four lots and that makes
a difference. Morgan stated that this is why the Planning Board is holding the public
hearing.
Pell asked if there were any questions from the Planning Board.
Pell closed the public hearing again.
Hedrick said he thought it would help the discussion for the Planning Board to remember that the Conventional Subdivision Overlay Exclusive - Conditional District (CVOE-CD) is an overlay district with the Residential Restricted District and
the Residential Agricultural District. Hedrick said that the request meets the
requirements, but it depends on this plat and the location of this house would be subject to the zoning permit that would have the necessary setbacks.
On the motion of Hedrick, seconded by Beeson, with a vote of 7-0, the Board voted
to approve the request with the motions contained in the Planning Board packet.
7. Update from the Planning Director.
Caddle stated that she had no comments for tonight.
It was announced that the Board of County Commissioners voted to add Susan
Thompson to the Planning Board as an Alternate member.
Caddle informed the Planning Board that she submitted an updated fee schedule to the Board of County Commissioners last night, so there will be changes in application fees.
8. Adjournment.
At 7:45 pm on motion of Davis, seconded by Austin, the Board voted 7-0 to adjourn.
Chairman
Clerk to the Planning Board Approved by Randolph County Planning Board July 9, 2024