By Noelle Edwards
nedwards@salisburypost.com
The Salisbury City Council agreed Tuesday to rezone 2.1 acres of land at the intersection of Statesville Boulevard and Enon Church Road from General Residential to Residential Mixed-Use.
No one spoke at the public hearing for the issue, and the Salisbury Planning Board recommended rezoning.
The new zoning will allow single-family homes, multifamily properties and offices to be built on the property.
A commercial building, such as a retail establishment or restaurant, could be built, but only up to 10,000 square feet and only with a special-use permit. Drive-through restaurants would not be allowed in any circumstance, Senior Planner Preston Mitchell said at the Aug. 12 Planning Board meeting where the request was first reviewed.
The land runs up against the edge of Rowan County property, which is commercially zoned in that area.
Councilman Mark Lewis said the intermediate zoning would be a good transition from a highly commercial area to a residential area.
Mitchell said that a more intense commercial zoning would be allowed under the Vision 2020 Plan but since the owner, Claude Bruce, asked for Residential Mixed-Use, that’s what he recommended.
“It’s a leap of faith,” Mitchell said. “Let’s take a leap of faith that’s a little bit shorter and go with the RMX (Residential Mixed-Use).”
Also at Tuesday’s meeting:
– Council voted to award a contract to Peregrine Communication for equipment, engineering and construction of a video acquisition system for the Fiber to the Home project.
– Council voted to award a contract to Pedulla Trucking, Excavating and Paving for downtown parking lot improvements. Mayor Pro Tem Paul Woodson said he wished a Rowan County company could have been awarded the bid, but statutes require the city to choose the lowest bidder.
“Our loyalty is to our taxpayers,” Mayor Susan Kluttz said.
– Council voted to authorize a revenue bond for $6 million to pay for an Interstate 85 sewer project and work on water and sewer lines from a 2007 annexation.
– Kluttz announced Downtown Salisbury’s Kids Night Out on Friday from 5 to 9 p.m. and a Sept. 11 Salisbury-Rowan Firefighters’ Memorial Service at 8:45 a.m.