Update 3/30/18 – The Gastonia, N.C., City Council this week unanimously approved McCord’s rezoning request after hashing out project details. The council was forced to vote after three adjoining landowners appealed the planning commission’s decision last month, according to the source.

The debate during Tuesday’s council meeting centered on development standards, including whether a fence or wall should be erected around the facility. Brent Messer, a representative for The Lutheran Church, said the church isn’t opposed to the land being developed but has concerns about aesthetics. Another neighboring landowner, Les McLean, suggested property values could suffer if a solid brick wall wasn’t added as a buffer, the source reported.

Requiring McCord to add a high brick wall would be unreasonable and make the project cost-prohibitive, said councilmember Dave Kirlin, who added that city planning staff will play a large role in the property design. “You can’t take this kind of a development and turn it into something it’s not,” he said. “You can’t wrap it up with brick and think it’s not a mini-storage warehouse.”

Kirlin pointed to the recent development of Sam’s Xpress Car Wash on East Franklin Boulevard as an example of how the city staff works to minimize adverse effects on adjacent property owners. In addition, there will be a detailed planning review, said Jason Thompson, planning director.

2/13/18 – A developer is seeking zoning approval to build a self-storage facility on a vacant parcel in Gastonia, N.C. Gary McCord has submitted an application to the planning commission to redevelop a 4.5-acre wooded patch at the intersection of Pineview Lane and South New Hope Road.

Split into two parcels, the site is owned by Ashbrook Station Limited. It was rezoned in 1996 for the development of a used-car sales center, but the project was never built, according to the source. The current zoning is adequate for self-storage use. However, to accommodate the 160 units McCord wants to build, the city would need to rezone a connected residential tract off Pineview Lane on which stands a single-family rental home. The city’s planning staff has recommended approving the rezoning.

The storage facility would be built between Berry’s Bakery and The Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. The site is just down the road from Ashbrook High School.

The plans for the storage project show the building elevations and an office, both of which would need to be approved by the city’s technical-review committee, the source reported.

Sources:
Gaston Gazette, ‘Mini-Warehouse’ Business Eyes Lot Along South New Hope Road
Gaston Gazette, Gastonia Approves Plan for Storage Units Along New Hope Road