Rolesville planning board recommends rezoning for WakeMed healthplex, imposes buffering and road‑completion conditions

The Rolesville Planning Board on June 22 recommended that the Town Board approve a conditional rezoning (RZ‑25‑06) to allow WakeMed to build a 24/7 healthplex and emergency department at 4801 Burlington Mills Road.

Planning staff described the 31‑acre site and recommended approval after outlining proposed conditions: prohibition of gas stations, shopping centers and vehicle repair uses; a cap of 40,000 square feet for any non‑residential use; a minimum 150‑foot building setback from homes in the adjoining Barrington subdivision; a maximum building height of 55 feet; and minimum 50‑foot landscape buffers where the property abuts Barrington. The town’s transportation plan calls for Burlington Mills Road and a planned Granite Falls Parkway connection; the town has budgeted about $5 million toward completing Burlington Mills/Granite Falls improvements.

Toby Coleman of Smith Anderson, who represented WakeMed, said the healthplex would include a stand‑alone emergency department with roughly 12 private treatment rooms, imaging and lab services and an estimated capital investment of about $53 million. ‘‘This is part of a network to bring emergency care closer to where people live,’’ Coleman said, adding WakeMed expects about 50 patients per day in the facility’s early years.

Tom Cavener, WakeMed’s vice president of facilities, said the organization reviewed parcels east of U.S. 401 but found limited frontage and access there; he said the Burlington Mills site was chosen because of access to Main Street and 401 and the ability to serve Wake Forest and neighboring areas.

Residents who live adjacent to the site voiced concerns about compatibility with residential uses, traffic and school‑pick‑up queuing, nighttime lighting, ambulance activity and potential property‑value impacts. ‘‘Imagine a 72‑year‑old living off Rogers Road trying to get to this emergency room during a heart attack,’’ said Tony Kenyon, a Barrington resident and healthcare provider, as he described safety and traffic worries.

Neighbors also questioned geotechnical uncertainty and potential blasting during construction. Several residents urged the board to require stronger buffering and site‑layout changes to reduce lighting and noise impacts on back yards near the planned patient drop‑off and ambulance porte‑cochere.

WakeMed and its design team said the rezoning package includes the larger setbacks and 50‑foot landscape buffers to mitigate height and sightline impacts; they also pointed to the town’s lighting and parking‑lot standards and said they would pursue directional and downward‑facing fixtures. The applicant agreed to study additional design measures—such as berms, supplemental planting or repositioning of drop‑off/ambulance areas—to limit lighting and noise effects and to work with staff on specific language.

A board member moved to recommend approval of RZ‑25‑06 as consistent with the comprehensive plan, adding a condition that Granite Falls Boulevard be completed before the facility opens; the motion was amended to include a requirement that the developer investigate ways to separate or shield ambulance/drop‑off lighting and noise from adjacent homes. The amendment was accepted and the board voted in favor of the recommendation. The Planning Board’s action is advisory; the Town Board of Commissioners will make the final decision.

If approved by commissioners, the project would still require detailed site plan review and any adjustments to layout, buffers or lighting would be refined through those subsequent reviews and through coordination with the town on roadway improvements.