Bryson City Road requests draw questions about town’s zoning review process
The Franklin Town Council approved two rezoning requests at its Jan. 6 meeting, one of which will allow the opening of a medical clinic in Heritage Hollow.
During the public hearing, Jodi Balderrama, who has been practicing in Sylva for the past five years, said she plans to open a family practice clinic in Franklin.
“I’m from here, born and raised here,” she said. “I’m ready to come a little bit closer to home.”
Balderrama said the clinic will have four exam rooms and they will offer primary care, some quick care and telemedicine.
“Most of our patients are over this way already, so they’re excited about not having to drive across the mountain,” she said.
Larry McCoy, one of Balderrama’s patients spoke during the public hearing. He said when he and his wife moved to Franklin they could not find a doctor accepting new patients, then found Balderrama in Sylva.
“Since that time we have experienced probably health care that is the best we have had in many, many years,” he said. “If you look at her qualifications and the experience she has, it says a lot for Franklin that someone with those qualifications wants to come and be here in Franklin.”
Balderrama requested the rezoning from C-1 commercial to C-2 conditional as medical clinics under 10,000 square feet are not allowed in C-1. In reviewing the request, the Franklin Planning Board recommended the rezoning for the clinic but keeping the setbacks as required with C-1 zoning. As required with a conditional zoning request, a neighborhood meeting was held on Oct. 25, 2024.
The site was previously a hair salon so parking is already in place and there will be handicap access. When presenting the request to the Planning Board, Balderrama said there would be few site changes and they are remodeling the building to make it suitable for a medical clinic.
She hopes to open in February.
Bryson City Road request
D&M Properties of Macon County and Mark Nowicki requested the rezoning of three parcels on Bryson City Road from R-1 residential to C-2 commercial. The addresses for the parcels are 1646 and 1660 Bryson City Road (.54 and 2.6 acres respectively, owned by Nowicki), and 1716 Bryson City Road (1.58 acres owned by D&M Properties). The properties are outside the city limits but within the ETJ (extra territorial jurisdiction).
Derek Roland, one of the D&M Properties owners, presented the request.
Roland said the rezoning would put the Bryson City Road corridor more in line with the other “gateways” into the county, such as Georgia Road, Highway 64 and Highlands Road. He also pointed out that historically the properties have been used for commercial purposes.
“I think by not zoning these properties commercial at this intersection, at a corridor this busy, at a corridor that is poised for growth such as this, I think not zoning these properties C-2 and beginning to look at the future and what this corridor holds, I think that would be not in the best interest of the public,” Roland said.
Neighboring property owner Evelyn Greer wanted to know about what type of regulations would be in place for the properties regarding hours of operation, lighting, signage, environmental impact and traffic flow.
Greer said she has a piece of property near Village Trader and the lights from the store light up the driveway all the way to the back of the house. “This bright light helps thieves,” she said.
Town Planner Justin Setser said the Village Trader was built before the adoption of the UDO (Unified Development Ordinance) and now there are more requirements regarding lighting.
“I don’t think you need to put residential and commercial zones mixed together,” Greer said. “My concern is for the safety of the neighborhood.”
Greer and others were also concerned that the rezoning might impact their taxes but were told it should not. She was also curious about how the rezoning might impact future use of her property.
Review process
The discussion and concerns of the property owners prompted questions about the process of reviewing rezoning requests. Currently, the Town Council forwards requests for the Planning Board to review. The Planning Board then makes a recommendation to approve or deny and sends it back to the Town Council for a public hearing and vote.
However, because the public hearing is held after the Planning Board review, they may not have neighborhood input before making a recommendation. The town sends letters to the neighboring property owners, notifying them of the rezoning request and the date for public hearing. A sign is usually posted in the neighborhood as well.
In this case, one neighbor said she received a letter Dec. 16, which was after the Planning Board meeting on Nov. 18 when the request was reviewed.
“The discussions about concerns that the neighbors have would be great if they could happen earlier rather than later in our process,” said Vice Mayor Stacy Guffey. “Some of this could have been hashed out at the Planning Board and then further hashed out here at this hearing.”
Board attorney John Henning said the council and Planning Board have been following what is required by statute, but he could do some research to determine if there is a way to provide more advance notice and hold a public hearing earlier in the process.
Request approved, 3-1
When the Planning Board reviews a rezoning request they have to consider all uses allowed within a zone, not just what the applicant might do with the property. Guffey said if the property owners had a specific use planned it would have been an opportunity to look at a conditional zoning request.
“That way, the concerns that the neighbors have, there would have been an opportunity to talk about that,” Guffey said.
In his presentation to the Planning Board and Town Council, Roland did not commit to how the property would be used.
In making the motion to approve the request, council member David Culpepper said, “I’m definitely receptive to Ms. Greer’s concerns about it, but I’m confused as to how this is not zoned commercial already, considering it’s been commercial use for so long. I don’t see how we can say this is not commercial when it already is commercial and has traditionally been commercial.”
Guffey agreed given the history of the property but reiterated he wished there was a better process for people to express their concerns when the requests go to the Planning Board.
“I have one further appeal to the property owner,” Guffey said in addressing Roland. “You’ve served Macon County and the Town of Franklin for a long time, so I know you’ll be around here for a while, but my appeal is to work with the neighbor and property owners to mitigate some of the potential impact.”
The final vote was 3-1 with council member Rita Salain opposing, and Culpepper, Guffey and Robbie Tompa voting in favor. Council members Joe Collins and Mike Lewis were not present.
Salain said she opposed changing the zoning from residential because “we desperately need many, many more homes.” The properties are mostly surrounded by residential properties.
“Property owners were there and spoke against it. The change was not justified sufficiently to me,” Salain said. “And, more commercial development could have a negative impact on developing more housing in the area.”