Iredell County Planning Board members voted Nov. 5 to recommend approval of a zoning map amendment for a 1.98-acre parcel at 1216 Allen Ford Road so the property can be used for a used-car dealership and associated vehicle service.

Leslie Meadows, planning staff, told the board the parcel — the former West Iredell Water Corporation headquarters — lies entirely within the 2045 Horizon Plan corridor commercial designation and is near existing commercial uses. Meadows said the request is a conventional rezoning with no additional negotiated conditions and that the rezoning would allow repurposing of existing commercial structures.

Applicants James and Tammy Fox told the board they intend to relocate an existing automobile dealership and use the existing structure for service. “We wish to buy this property to move an existing automobile dealership that we run … and service the vehicles we sell with the building in the back,” James Fox said, providing his home address in Stony Point. He and his wife described plans for limited evening activity and added they would landscape or otherwise conform to requirements to address neighbors’ concerns.

No members of the public spoke for or against the request at the hearing. A board member moved to recommend approval, finding the rezoning consistent with the 2045 Horizon Plan; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously. The board noted its recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners, which will take final action Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. in the same facility.

What happens next: The county commission will hold a public hearing on Dec. 2 and make the final decision on the rezoning application.