RFP Staff
♦ On Tuesday at 4 p.m. Salisbury’s City Council will conduct a public hearing for Rowan County’s request for a Conditional District Overlay for the West End Plaza. At present the West End Plaza is zoned highway business. The request for the government use permit will include the West End Plaza’s main buildings and the parking lot surrounding it. The request for the government use permit will not include the out parcels. The total area to be rezoned is 25.5 acres. Open storage areas may still be a possibility in the West End Plaza’s rear.
The West End Plaza, if the Conditional District Overlay gains approval from City Council, will provide space for the Board of Elections, the County’s Facilities Management Department, and the Veteran’s Service Department. In the future, according to the county’s preliminary space needs studies, the county will require more space. A Conditional District Overlay will permit the city to have more say over the county’s future space requirements.
Last week the Salisbury Planning Board added 3 conditions to their approval: (1) The county’s rear outside storage area has to be visually shielded from the adjacent residential area. (2) No outdoor kenneling would be permitted at the site which would mean that no animal shelter could be at the West End Plaza. (3) No class 2 and class 3 utilities, as defined by the city, could be housed at the West End Plaza. These 3 conditions would still have to be approved by City Council who might add additional conditions.
