A piece of property located near the Mount Airy Fire Company Carnival Grounds is one step closer to being annexed by the town.
The Board of Carroll County Commissioners at their meeting Thursday unanimously approved a request from Mount Airy to rezone 1.3189 acres of property along Twin Arch Road, from residential to industrial. This zoning waiver approval allows the town to move closer to annexing the property into its corporate limits and increasing its industrial and commercial landscape.
“I can’t see any opposition to do this,” District 1 Commissioner Joe Vigliotti said. “I mean, the town is requesting it. It’s something that we can help make happen. We’ve been having some discussions over the last couple of weeks about ways we could cooperate with our municipalities in order to grow our commercial and industrial areas in the county, [as] a way to grow the tax base, rather than having to rely on increasing taxes.”
The small piece of property is owned by Tom Pank of Pank Land LLC. It is adjacent to two other parcels, one totaling 10.35 acres, and the other 38.94 acres, also zoned industrial, and located within the town’s corporate limits.
“This is sort of cleaning up the corporate boundary line of the town,” John Breeding, director of planning and zoning administrator, said in an interview Friday. “It’s really pretty straightforward.”
Breeding said the entire 50-acre property backs up to the Mount Airy Fire Company Carnival Grounds. A vacant home is on the 1.31 acres, and another building is on the adjacent property.
“Currently, Pank Land LLC has a plan under review with the town and Carroll County for a grading-only permit to grade all three parcels in preparation for a site development plan to be presented once a prospective user for an industrial lot contacts the property owner,” a written annexation plan states.
The Mount Airy Town Council is slated to schedule a public hearing on the annexation at its meeting Monday night. The public hearing is slated for October.
District 4 Commissioner Michael Guerin, who represents Mount Airy, said he’s familiar with the area, and the heavily traveled Twin Arch Road.
“I think it’s important that the public hearing take place, so people understand the larger concept of why this is happening, in relation to some of the neighboring parcels as well … and how it’s going to affect an already very busy road,” he said.
Breeding said at Thursday’s meeting that he agreed with Guerin’s concerns. He said when a site plan for development is presented to the town, requirements for road improvements will be discussed.
The Mount Airy Planning and Zoning Commission and Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission have both recommended approval of the annexation.
