Cunningham, who with other partners once held the country music concert festival Rapids Jam at the site, now seeks to have the slightly more than 83 acres of land rezoned to I-2 industrial.
(The meeting will be held in the Lloyd Andrews City Meeting Hall at 700 Jackson Street)
It is currently zoned B-4 Commercial-Entertainment Overlay District, which at the time fit in with plans for a music and entertainment district in the area around the Roanoke Rapids Theatre.
While the property at Wallace Fork Road is now undeveloped, no potential use should the planning board approve the rezoning has been stated by Cunningham.
“The entertainment district was developed at the height of the real estate boom,” Ellen Heaton, of Heaton Real Estate, said in a statement to rrspin.com after a comment on the matter was solicited. “Most citizens in this area will drive to Raleigh or Richmond for entertainment. I believe it’s time for the city to step back and reevaluate.”
Said Heaton: “The highest and best use of that property has changed. With rezoning, the property will have the opportunity for other uses.”
These opportunities, she said, could provide jobs and a higher tax base. “The property is located next to I-95, so it could easily attract other uses. I see this as a positive move for Roanoke Rapids.”
In the analysis and detail portion of the request contained in the agenda, Planning and Development Director Kelly Lasky notes in 2006 the site was originally part of the establishment of the Roanoke Rapids Entertainment subdivision and sold to Carolina Dirt in September of 2010.
There are nine properties along Wallace Fork Road developed as single-family residential mobile homes. There is one property to the northeast of the site developed as a single-family conventional home. “The residential use of these properties is designated as a grandfathered, legal, non-conforming use of the land in the B-4 (Entertainment Overlay District).”
The single-family residential use was made unlawful by the land use ordinance regulations when the B-4 commercial district was established. Since the residential use was lawful prior to the establishment of the current zoning classification, the non-conforming residential use of the properties may continue …” the document says.
The I-2 district, a heavy industrial district, accommodates various enterprises from manufacturing to assembling of goods. It is designed for a minimum lot width of 100 feet and building setbacks of 40 feet from the street right-of-way line and 25 feet from all other property boundaries. Building height is limited to 45 feet.
A less intense district may also be considered as a result of public input, the agenda notes.
“Any proposed construction and site plans are evaluated by city staff and the development review committee to ensure a proper design,” the document says.
Traffic considerations will be evaluated when the proposed use is identified and a preliminary site plan is presented by a future developer.
“The planning and development staff recommends in favor of the petitioner's request,” the document says. “The staff finds the proposed rezoning request to be consistent with the surrounding land use and supported by the comprehensive plan.”
