Smithfield Mayor Casts Deciding Vote Against Peedin Road Rezoning

SMITHFIELD, N.C. — A Clayton couple’s effort to build a home for their family on a vacant lot off North Brightleaf Boulevard in Smithfield was denied after the Town Council split evenly on a rezoning request, leaving Mayor Andy Moore to cast the deciding vote.

On July 21, Maria Dawod asked the council to rezone a 0.497-acre parcel at 14 Peedin Road from B-3 Highway Entranceway Business to R-6 Residential so she and her husband could build a single-family home. The property is located behind the Speedway convenience store off North Brightleaf Boulevard.

Addressing the council, Dawod said the couple wanted to build a home where they could raise their family and children.

Planning Director Brent Reck told council members the property is currently vacant but historically served as residential property. Planning records show two homes once stood on the lot before they were demolished years ago. The applicant’s proposal called for construction of a single-family residence.

Reck also noted the property is somewhat unique because, while it remains commercially zoned, several adjacent parcels along Peedin Road are already zoned R-6 residential and contain single-family homes. Planning staff concluded that, with appropriate site development, the property would be compatible with the nearby residential uses despite the surrounding commercial development.

Both the Smithfield Planning Board and town planning staff recommended approval of the rezoning request.

Despite those recommendations, several council members questioned the type of rezoning being requested.

Rather than seeking conditional zoning, which would have limited the property to a specific use, the application requested standard R-6 zoning. Council members expressed concern that while Dawod intended to build a single-family home, unrestricted R-6 zoning could allow other residential uses permitted under the ordinance, including townhomes, without returning to the council for additional approval.

Council members asked Reck how long it would take for the applicants to reapply under the conditional zoning process. Reck said the process would require another public hearing and Planning Board review and would take at least 60 days, possibly longer.

During questioning, Dawod acknowledged she knew the property was zoned commercial when she purchased it earlier this year.

Council members also expressed concern that Peedin Road has become a heavily traveled commercial corridor with businesses surrounding the property, including the adjacent Speedway convenience store.

Following discussion, the council voted 3-3 on the rezoning request.

Voting in favor were Travis Scott, Dr. Gettys Cohen and Sloan Stevens.

Voting against were John Dunn, Steve Rabil and Doris Wallace.

Mayor Andy Moore broke the tie by voting against the rezoning, saying he believed the property should remain available for future commercial development rather than converting additional commercially zoned land to residential use.

Several council members emphasized they were not opposed to Dawod building a home on the property but were uncomfortable approving unrestricted R-6 zoning. They indicated a conditional rezoning that limited the parcel to a single-family residence would provide greater protection against future higher-density residential development while preserving the council’s ability to control how the property could be used.

The denial does not prevent the applicants from submitting a new request seeking conditional R-6 zoning for the property.