Burlington’s planning and zoning commission has given its blessing to a proposed rezoning at 521 Rauhut Street over the objections of the city’s planning department.
Mohamed Shahim Kaled appeared before the planning board last Monday night requesting the members’ endorsement of his rezoning request for two parcels comprising .31 acres at the corner of Rauhut and Apple streets, where he wants to construct a car lot.
The planning department recommended a denial because the singular use requested is “very restrictive and limiting.”
But Kaled told the board that the narrow focus of his request was the very “strength of the proposal.” He said that requesting extraneous possibilities that he doesn’t actually intend to build would likely attract neighborhood opposition. Instead, there was no indication of any opposition during Monday’s meeting or in any correspondence with the city beforehand.
One resident spoke up to suggest that Kaled should improve the attractiveness of his existing lot before expanding again.
Kaled told the board he already operates a car lot on North Church Street across from Biscuitville and hopes to open a similar lot on Rauhut Street.
He said he has in mind “something clean, something nice” in place of the dilapidated building now on the corner site. The lot next door is vacant.
He showed the members a proposed layout of the lot. However, the drawing does not reflect the 30-foot buffer that planning director Jamie Lawson said would be required.
Tom Boney, Jr., publisher of The Alamance News spoke to the board in opposition to the planning board’s oft-stated preference to have multiple classifications, rather than the singular one Kaled had requested.
Boney suggested that the city was effectively enticing applicants to be dishonest, listing more purposes than those they really intend.
He also noted that in the examples he had observed, the city seemed to insist on these multiple purposes in poorer areas of the city, such as Rauhut Street, that desperately needed revitalization.
The planning board went on to recommend the rezoning request 6-0. Voting in favor were board chairman James Kirkpatrick, and board members Mike Mills, Ethan Raynor, Lee Roane, Jonathan Sanders, and Ryan Spadaccini.
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