The Wake County board of commissioners approved the rezoning of two properties on Monday, one of which threatens the displacement of a group of mobile homes in Raleigh.
The first case, ZP-882-14, concerned a 15.5 acre parcel of land on Seclusion Park Road zoned Residential Mobile Home (RMH) in southeast Raleigh. The owners of the parcel — collectively known as the Louellen Francis estate — sought to rezone the parcel to Residential-30 (R-30) to align it with the rest of the 127.9 acre property.
Wake County
The mobile home park in 1996
The owners stated at the public hearing that those living in the 12-15 mobile homes would have six to nine months to find another place to live. The attempt to sell the property came after the death of the prior owner in 2008, which left a significant amount of money to be paid to the IRS in estate tax.
Commissioners expressed concern about the displacement of those living in the mobile homes.
Keith Lankford with Wake County planning said the public had been informed of the possible rezoning through post cards and newspaper ads but that there had been no opposition. He also spoke on the challenges facing those living in the mobile homes to find a new property to rent.
“Part of the problem, as I understand it, is that some of the other mobile homes are hesitant to accept some of the older mobile home models,” Lankford said.
Anne Marie Maiorano, who is the administrator in the Department of Housing and Community Revitalization for Wake County, said the challenge in relocating older model mobile homes was their difficulty in traveling from one location to the next. She added that for the owners of the 6,689 mobile homes in Wake County, displacement is always a risk.
With this final parcel being rezoned to R-30, plans are to develop the entire property into a residential subdivision. Because there are no sewer or water lines in that area, the subdivision would rely on septic tanks and wells.
Because the rezoning was found to be reasonable, in the public interest and consistent with the Land Use Map, the planning staff of Wake County and the Wake County planning board recommended approval. A motion to approve was made, seconded, and the rezoning passed unanimously.
The second rezoning case concerned two parcels of land totaling 16.14 acres located at Old McCullers Road, which is the site of Wake Tech Community College. The applicant, Rachel Cotter, wished to rezone the property from Heavy Commercial (HC) and Residential-30 (R-30) to Office and Institutional (O & I) to allow for the building of four new parking lots.
Bing Maps
The site of some new parking lots near Wake Tech
Lankford said that the rezoning was consistent with several Land Use Plan goals and would show improvements for vehicular circulation, vehicular and pedestrian safety, and the impact on the environment.
According to Lankford, there was no objection from the general public and the surrounding property owners. Because the rezoning was found to be consistent with the Land Use Map, reasonable, and in the public interest, the planning staff of Wake County and the Wake County planning board recommended approval.
A motion to approve was made and it carried unanimously.
