INDIAN TRAIL – Christopher Faulk secured approval from the Indian Trail Town Council on Jan. 13 that would allow him to pursue commercial development on 3.67 acres at 125 Plyler Road.
The two parcels at the intersection of Plyler and Unionville-Indian Trail roads were zoned for single-family residential. Faulk applied to rezone the parcels as general business, which would allow for commercial, financial or office uses.
Low-density single-family property borders the site to the east and south while there is some commercial and light industrial to the north. The Exchange at Indian Trail apartment complex is to the west of the site.
Indian Trail’s Comprehensive Plan calls for this area to evolve into high-density residential development.
“We don’t always get it right,” Planning Director Brandi Deese told the town council. “We were kind of excited about getting this one wrong. Anytime we can get commercial development, I think that’s positive to our tax base and jobs. It also is on the corner and intersection, so we could foresee some of this being commercial. The rest of the medium-density interior would likely be some form of residential.”
Technically, the request was a zoning map amendment, or conventional rezoning, and did not come with a site plan.
Councilman Marcus McIntyre asked the applicant during the public hearing about his plans for the property.
Faulk, a surveyor and engineer by trade, said he was hoping to build an office for himself but he’s still evaluating what type of commercial use would go best on the corner.
“It’s a great corner,” Faulk told the council. “Definitely don’t want anything residential. This is definitely a commercial spot.”
Deese said Faulk will have to eventually present a site plan and work with staff to meet ordinance requirements.
“While the recommendation for high-density residential would be supported based on the Comprehensive Plan, staff believe that this request is reasonable due to limited sewer capacity available and current political climate which limits future potential uses to more commercial in nature rather than residential,” according to the staff report.
The Indian Trail Town Council didn’t waste time mulling this one over after closing the public hearing. They unanimously voted in favor of the request.