A unanimous rezoning vote by the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners will accommodate the expansion and relocation plans of two local businesses.
It involves an 1.8-acre site at the corner of Hickory and Tate streets owned by Surry Chemical Properties, LLC at 241 Hickory St.
Plans are in the works to construct a multi-use structure (office/warehouse) on the now-vacant property which will be the new home of Pine State Marketing, presently located on Frederick Street.
This is to be an 8,000 square-foot metal warehouse containing about 1,500 square feet of office space to lease to Pine Street Marketing, a business founded in 2003 which specializes in custom apparel and promotional products while employing 10 people.
But first, a rezoning request for the site in question had to be approved by city officials, initiated by William Sheppard, the president of Surry Chemicals Inc. and a co-owner of Pine State Marketing.
Sheppard sought to have its classification changed from R-6 (General Residential) to B-2 (General Business).
Mount Airy Planning Director Andy Goodall told the commissioners during a meeting last week — when the request was granted — that the change from residential to business zoning at the Hickory/Tate location reflects the growth patterns of the affected area.
“This is a neighborhood that’s in transition,” Goodall said of the area just off U.S. 52-North.
The Mount Airy Planning Board previously found the rezoning and planned use of the property conforms to the future land-use classification of that section, of medium intensity and adjacent high intensity, specified in a comprehensive plan for the city.
That board, an advisory group to the commissioners, recommended the rezoning approval in a 6-0 vote on May 22.
And apparently, everyone else agrees with that sentiment regarding the change.
“We’ve had no feedback, positive or negative, from neighboring property owners,” the planning director said.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com