By Josh Bergeron
josh.bergeron@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — With a relatively short agenda on Tuesday, Rowan County Commissioners will meet to consider two zoning matters and a parking lease with the Rowan County Fair Association.

Commissioners will meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in the county administration building at 130 West Innes St. The meeting is on Tuesday because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

First up, county commissioners will consider issuing a conditional use permit for rental treehouses in the China Grove area.

Commissioners on Nov. 21 gave preliminary approval to the permit and asked owner Trent Cherry to complete three action items before a final approval. Cherry built the treehouses before county laws existed to govern cabin or treehouse rentals. After staff learned of the treehouses, commissioners added the term “cabin” into the county’s code of ordinances.

During their Nov. 21 meeting, commissioners asked Cherry to obtain building permits for the existing structures, obtain an environmental health permit for installation of a septic tank and make road improvements to the site.

County staff say Cherry has finished all three tasks. On Tuesday, commissioners will continue a postponed quasi-judicial hearing and consider issuing permits.

Next up, commissioners will consider issuing a conditional use permit to allow Rowan resident Steve Bost to build a 2,400-square-foot storage building on a vacant parcel of land on Goodman Lake Road. The storage building would be used for Bost’s personal vehicles and equipment.

The third item may involve a bit more discussion than the previous two. Commissioners will consider a lease for Rowan County Agricultural and Industrial Fair Association to lease 5 acres of county land for parking. Commissioners will also discuss creating a “stewardship plan” for county land with valuable timber on it.

In 2015, commissioners discussed and approved a lease with the fair association for 5 acres of a 24-acre tract of land. A lease came up again earlier this month with some changes, but commissioners tabled consideration until more information could be obtained about the value of timber on the 5 acres of land.

Timber on 5-acre portion of the 24-acre tract would be cleared and sold to make room for parking.

Documents included with Tuesday’s agenda state that it would be a monetary benefit to Rowan County to clean up underbrush on the remaining 19 acres while the other 5 acres are cleared of trees. It may also be beneficial for the county to do similar maintenance on other land containing valuable timber, according to agenda documents.

On Tuesday, county commissioners could approve the lease with the fair association and pass a stewardship plan for all county land, including acres that won’t be used by the fair association.

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246.