Mebane’s planning board voted 5-0 Monday night to recommend rezoning for two distressed properties in the city’s historically black West End area.
The planning board approved a request from the owner, Antonio Mosquedo of 2911 Miller Road in Hillsborough, to rezone a property at 300 Giles Street from B-3 (neighborhood business district) to R-15 (residential), a designation that allows for moderate-density residential of up to 2.9 units per acre, according to the city’s development ordinance.
The Giles Street property is located on the Alamance County side of the city, within Mebane’s municipal limits, and spans just over a third of an acre, or approximately 16,988 square feet.
City water and sewer are already available to the property.
Surrounding land uses include single-family residential and office and institutional for one property, currently used as a daycare, according to the city’s planning department.
While the city has an active condemnation case for the uninhabitable house on the lot, city officials have said they believe the owner is planning to demolish the structure himself.
The developer wants to build a house on the property, according to the application for rezoning that Mosqueda submitted to the planning department late last month.
Mebane’s planning staff reviewed the request and determined it to be consistent with the city’s long-range land use plan.
Planning board recommends high-density rezoning for 703 West McKinley Street
The planning board also voted 5-0 to recommend rezoning for property at 703 West McKinley Street from R-20 (low-density residential and agricultural uses) to R-8 (high-density two-family and multi-family dwellings with limited public and commercial units).
The West McKinley Street property spans just over two-thirds of an acre, or about 30,000 square feet, according to city officials.
The R-8 zoning designation allows for up to 5.44 units per acre or less for single-family residences and approximately 10 units per acre for multi-family residences, under the city’s development ordinance.
Surrounding uses for the property on West McKinley Street include single-family residential, duplexes, and one of the city’s pocket parks, according to Mebane’s planning department.
The property is located within what’s designated in the city’s long-range land use plan (the Mebane 2045 Comprehensive Plan) as a suburban neighborhood, “characterized by low- to moderate-density residential development,” according to the planning department.
The West McKinley Street property is located on the Alamance County side of the city, and city water/sewer service is available.
The applicant, Whitt Real Estate Investments, Inc., of 2228 Rock Bridge Drive, Mebane, is under contract to buy the property from the current owners, Chris Calendar, Jermaine Kee, and JoAnn McKenzie.
The purchase is currently scheduled to close on April 30, according to a copy of the sale agreement that was provided to the planning board.
Jenny Whitt of Whitt Real Estate Investments says that she would like to subdivide the property back to its original plat, dated April 12, 1919, with three consecutive 50-foot lots for the construction of single-family homes, according to the rezoning application she filed with the city in late March.
Planning staff evaluated the request and deemed it to be compatible with the city’s long-range development goals.
The planning board subsequently voted 5-0 Monday night to recommend rezoning for the property at 703 West McKinley Street.
Both rezoning requests will go before Mebane’s city council for a public hearing and vote at its next meeting on May 4.
