Mebane’s city council this week approved a rezoning and special use permit request that will allow significant changes to a property located at 204 North Fifth Street, immediately behind/beside the Mebane Mill Lofts in the former White Furniture building.
An attorney and architect for the property owner outlined the plans to Mebane’s city council during a public hearing Monday night.
While parking will be increased on site – from the present level of roughly 10 parking spaces to 38 – the property is still well short of the ordinance’s requirement for 124.
The owner also sought a waiver that would allow a glass corner on the building façade, with decorative steel, rather than the existing brick façade now on the building that was built in 1952.
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The rezoning request was for a change from B-2, general business, to B-1, the downtown business district. Meanwhile, the special use permit would update the building’s zoning to its actual use as a planned occupancy group.
Attorney LeAnn Brown noted that the site is currently located in a “sea of B-1 zoning,” and that the change would bring the zoning “into greater conformity with surrounding areas.”
The architect, Anna Worth, also noted the potential presence of a future crosswalk across North Fifth Street.
Councilman Tim Bradley noted that the city had authorized a study several years ago that dealt with parking issues and crosswalks in the area.
City manager Chris Rollins noted that those discussions took place when a dance studio was occupying part of the site; it has now moved, and Rollins told the council that complaints about the parking and pedestrians crossing the busy street had all but been eliminated.
Nonetheless, the council asked Rollins to work with the owner in hopes of getting him to agree to some financial contribution toward the crosswalk since, as councilmen noted, the crosswalk to parking across the street would benefit the owner as much as the city.
While the council did not make any commitment to fund that a condition of its approval, it asked Rollins to work on it.
Meanwhile, the actual rezoning and special use permit were agreed to unanimously by the council.
Other Mebane news in this week’s edition:
- City council selects Katie Burkholder as new council member: https://alamancenews.com/breaking-mon-night-mebane-city-council-names-katie-burkholder-to-fill-remaining-two-years-of-patty-philipps-term/
- Council bids farewell to Patty Philipps who has resigned and and is moving to the NC coast: https://alamancenews.com/best-wishes-in-send-off-to-council-member-patty-philipps/
- Council approves first downtown grants for build rehab: https://alamancenews.com/facade-grants-approved-for-five-mebane-downtown-buildings/
- Council names two new members of Racial Equity Advisory Committee, one new planning board member: https://alamancenews.com/two-new-members-appointed-to-fill-vacancies-on-mebanes-racial-equity-advisory-committee/
- Gildan announces it will close Mebane distribution center: https://alamancenews.com/gildan-to-close-mebane-distribution-center/
