Two public hearings to discuss a rezoning of a property in the county and to recommend a Capital Improvement Plan for the years 2019-23 took place during the Cumberland County Planning Commission meeting Monday.

No members of the public spoke during either public hearing.

The rezoning of Residential-2 (R-2) to Business-1 (B-1) was for a vacant lot owned by Robert Wise, located on the south side of U.S. Route 60 near the Route 13 interchange.

The meeting commission packet cited that the property, located in a high-intensity growth area according to the county’s comprehensive plan, is surrounded by properties that are “a mixture of single-family residential and commercial.”

“He’s just seeking for a general rezoning from R-2, rural residential, to B-1, business,” said Planning and Zoning Director J.P. Duncan. “It’s a 1-acre lot, and it’s in the comprehensive plan as a high-intensity growth area. With that said, it would achieve goal three, objective two (and) goal five, objective one.”

“It is consistent with the comprehensive plan,” Duncan said. He said he sent notifications about the rezoning to nearby residents but that no one has responded to them.

Members voted in favor of recommending the rezoning to the Cumberland County Board of Supervisors.

A public hearing with the board about the rezoning is scheduled to take place during the board’s April 10 meeting.

Commission members also voted to recommend a county Capital Improvement Plan for the fiscal years 2019-23 to the board.

County Administrator and Attorney Vivian Seay Giles noted a past meeting where planning commission members suggested items for capital improvement.

“I took the comments and the notes and the suggestions of the planning commission from that meeting and updated it in this spreadsheet,” Giles said.

Projects on the Capital Improvement Plan include a plotter replacement and IT fiber from the courthouse to a nearby tower for the county; football grandstand replacement, carpet removal and replacement and demolition of pods behind the Cumberland County Middle School/High School complex for the school division; and a unit replacement for Cumberland Rescue, an upgrade for a unit from Cartersville Volunteer Rescue Squad, a rescue boat with trailer for Cumberland Fire & EMS and a crash truck replacement for Randolph Volunteer Fire Department for emergency services. A plotter is a printer used for large-scale graphics.

The total allocation for the 15 projects listed on the board packet is estimated to be $1,428,298.

District Four Commission Member Hubert Allen said the projects would be the best that could be done with the budget.

“What we’ve done is the best we can do,” Allen said.