Burlington’s city council has expanded the allowable uses on a vacant, commercial parcel at a South Church Street intersection that also serves as the gateway to a longstanding residential neighborhood.
During a regularly-scheduled meeting on Tuesday, the council voted 5-to-0 to adopt a zoning change that will more than double the allowed activities on this .72-acre parcel at 2161 South Church Street – which is situated on the corner of Engleman Avenue.
The now-vacant property had previously been designated for 28 potential commercial activities under a now obsolete “conditional” zoning designation that it received years ago. John Arthur of Greensboro had asked the city to rezone the property for a “limited” form of general business use that stipulates 63 possible activities, including 27 of those allowed under the old conditional label.
Arthur had previously informed the city’s planning and zoning commission that this zoning change would facilitate the expansion of the neighboring carwash onto the corner lot.
Glenn Patterson, who co-owns the lot with Kevin Sasser, was more circumspect when he described the purpose of the rezoning request to the city council on Tuesday.
“The petitioner was looking to do something there,” Patterson recalled during a state-mandated public hearing that evening. “I worked in conjunction with him to come up with this list of uses, and we got rid of everything [in the inventory of general business uses] that didn’t make sense.”
Burlington’s mayor pro tem Harold Owen, who is himself a resident of Engleman Avenue, informed his colleagues about a couple of challenges that will confront any new project that goes up on this property.
“That area is definitely increasing in traffic,” Owen explained, “and I’ve probably spent half of my life waiting for that stoplight to turn on Church Street…That property is also backing up to a residential zoned area, and I think that is a concern we have to address in terms of buffering.”
Jim Butler assured Owen that the city’s unified development ordinance will require adequate buffers for any business that eventually sets up shop on the corner lot.
“So, there’s some benefit to compliance with the UDO,” he added, “because it places a lot of restrictions in the interest of those who live behind there.”
The council also heard some remarks about the request from Sarah Folckomer of Sunnybrook Drive, who insisted that she has no objections to the property’s development. Folckomer nevertheless echoed Owen’s concerns about the neighborhood’s increasing traffic.
“This is a busy corner,” she added. “It’s getting busier all the time, and it has been the site of a number of accidents.”
Folckomer went on to suggest some dedicated left turn lanes to ease the potential road hazards at the intersection. The council, meanwhile, approved the rezoning request by a margin of 5-to-0.
