The Southern Pines Town Council Tuesday night put in place a new zoning district to control growth in one of the last, large undeveloped tracts in town.

The council voted to zone 500 acres on both sides of Morganton Road as a new Mixed Use district that will permit a variety of uses from residential to commercial.

“We don’t expect it to develop that quickly,” said Town Manager Kyle Sonnenberg on Wednesday. “There is so much land, and much of it runs back quite a distance behind Morganton Road, some of it all the way almost to U.S. 15-501.”

The new zoning is designed to create centralized commercial area, surrounded by residential neighborhoods — much like a downtown develops.

Buildings are to be sited toward the street, with parking on the side or rear. Roads will have sidewalks and all utility lines will be underground.

The plan is to connect the road system in the area with those of existing developments to provide alternative traffic routes other than Morganton Road.

The council also adopted a list of permissible uses in the new district. Those include single family and multi-family residences; hotels and motels; smaller shopping centers that generate lower volumes of traffic; offices; banks; schools and churches.

Some of the other uses include bowling alleys, movie theaters and other recreational and amusement businesses; medical and healthcare facilities; animal clinics with no outdoor kennels; nightclubs and bars; gas stations; and emergency serves such as police and fire stations.

Signs of Growth

While much of the Morganton Road corridor east of U.S. 15-501 up to Fire Lane Road remains unspoiled, some property owners there are seeing more signs of growth — increased traffic and litter.

In recent years, another shopping center went in across from Pinecrest Plaza. More recently, a Backyard Burger restaurant and Mac’s convenience store have sprung up at the intersection with Pinecrest School Road.

A new ten-screen movie theater next to K-Mart, which will be accessed off Morganton Road, is expected generate more traffic. Another apartment complex is planned in that area.

The remaining, undeveloped land is split into several tracts, with multiple owners.

Additional development plans for the area may be discussed at the council’s June 26 workshop meeting. Mayor Frank Quis expects to see more “activity” in that area.

Before the new zoning district was created, the area was designated as a Planned Development district. Much of the land was clear-cut 16 years ago and has not been used since.

The tract runs westward along Morganton toward U.S. 15-501, ending at the corner where Pinecrest Plaza shopping center is located, and crossing Morganton near the Fresh Market and going behind K mart.

More Traffic

James Williford, owner of Pinelawn Memorial Park cemetery on Morganton Road, told the council during the public forum part of the meeting after the land had already zoned, that he had concerns about the new district.

Williford said something needs to be done about the already heavy, fast-moving traffic on Morganton. He said that is a big problem when funerals are held because people have trouble getting on Morganton Road.

He said there have been some “near misses” with oncoming cars.

“I’ve had major concerns,” said Williford, who suggested lowering the speed from the present 45 mph.

He also noted that “We’re already having to deal with…picking up trash along the road.”

Although there has been some talk about the need for a stop light at the intersection of Morganton and Pinecrest School roads, the N.C. Department of Transportation has no immediate plans to put one there.

Traffic volumes at certain times of day meet two of 11 criteria needed for a traffic signal, but there is no money set aside for it unless it were done strictly for safety reasons, said Jerry Porter, an assistant division traffic engineer for the DOT. He said at this point, that wouldn’t appear to be warranted.

“There’s not a bad crash history there,” Porter said. Two fairly minor accidents occurred there in the last two years, Porter said.

Porter said DOT engineers have studied adding a turn lane on Pinecrest High School Road, but that would require widening the road and cost estimates must first be obtained.

Since the undeveloped property along the east side of Pinecrest School Road, which is two lanes, behind the shopping center is part of the Morganton Road Mixed Use district, officials expect future development will generate more traffic on that road.