T&N Holdings, LLC has submitted a request to rezone approximately 3.31 acres at 2121 and 2123 Fayetteville Road from Moderate Density Residential to Highway Business, that Rockingham City Council will review on Tuesday.

The request was submitted in May. Two single-family detached dwellings are currently located on the subject property. The applicant has preliminary plans for a commercial development. The property is located directly across from the Plaza North Shopping Center where Food Lion is located.

The future land use map in Shaping Our Future: 2012 identifies a majority of the property as well as all other frontage along Fayetteville Road in the vicinity as highway commercial property. The rear portion of the property is identified as residential.

As indicated by the zoning map, ten lots with frontage on Fayetteville Road between Roberdel Road and Lawson Lane are zoned R-9 (single-family detached residences at moderate densities). Nine single-family detached dwellings are located on those ten lots, one lot is vacant. In the opinion of the City staff, all ten of these lots are or will eventually become more desirable for commercial development considering the recent highway improvements and commercial land uses directly across Fayetteville Road.

At this time, City staff is not recommending the expansion of the proposed rezoning to encompass all ten lots since there is currently no expressed commercial interest in the remaining residentially zoned lots. These remaining lots may be rezoned in the future by City Council.

The property will require a landscape buffer between it and all surrounding properties, and the developer has options as to width and contents of the buffer. The topography of the rear of the subject property is somewhat low due to the rear property boundary being in the run of Surginor Branch and does occasionally experience minor flooding. Thus, at least some portion of the rear of the subject property is likely wetlands, according to Rockingham Planning Director John Massey. This fact, couple with the presence of a sewer line easement, probably renders the rear of the property unsuitable for any type of development.

If adjoining property owners express concerns, a possible compromise may be to limit the depth of the rezoning to 450 feet of depth.

Rockingham City Council will meet Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. to discuss this and other items on the agenda. The council meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. The public is invited to voice their concerns during Business by Visitors.