Commissioners approve small rezoning, postpone multi‑county subdivision and another rezoning to April 20

The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners on Monday approved a zoning map amendment for a 0.717‑acre parcel near Harmon Road and delayed two other land‑use items to allow more information to be gathered.

Jeremiah, a county planning staff member, told commissioners that Zoning Map Amendment 7‑71 sought to change a parcel from residential single‑family to residential suburban and that the Lincoln County Planning Board had recommended approval 5–0. Chair (Unidentified) called for the motion and the board approved the planning board’s statement and the rezoning by voice vote.

Also on the planning agenda, the board discussed ZMA 7‑61 (Big A Ranch LLC), a request to rezone 1.81 acres at 3673 North NC 16 Business from residential single‑family to neighborhood business. Property owner Jenny Owen, who identified herself as living at 3563 Carol Lane in Maiden, told the board the property has not yet sold and asked for an additional 90‑day continuance because, she said, “If it's rezoned to neighborhood business, we cannot do that” (referring to continuing a residential rental). Commissioner Cena moved to postpone the item; the board agreed to bring it up again on April 20.

A separate multi‑county plat (Dream Finders Homes LLC) that would create an approximately 34‑lot subdivision spanning Lincoln and Catawba counties was also continued to April 20. Planning staff said the proposal relies on private water and sewer systems—two wells in Catawba County and a community septic system on the Lincoln County side—and that Catawba County had requested revisions and deferred its final action. Commissioners flagged cross‑jurisdictional permitting and maintenance responsibilities for the proposed community septic system as unresolved. Applicant representative Will Swearingen said an independent bird survey found one bald‑eagle nest and that the applicant proposes a 100‑foot protective buffer; the applicant is working through state permitting with Catawba County.

On a separate planning motion, the board approved Plan Development PD‑2025‑2 to rezone 10.36 acres to Plan Development commercial for a self‑storage facility with outdoor vehicle storage; the board adopted the planning board recommendation and approved the application by a 4–1 vote, with a single dissent noted in the record.

The board scheduled the continued zoning and plat items for its April 20 meeting and asked planning staff to provide the bird‑survey report and additional details about the proposed septic maintenance agreement prior to that date.