The plans for a 49,000 square foot Publix grocery store at the intersection of Dunn and Falls of Neuse Roads may be off the table but Raleigh’s Planning Commission voted Tuesday to rezone the 13-acre property.
In a concession to neighbors in North Raleigh who have vehemently opposed the Publix store, developer Morgan Property Group replaced the proposal with a scaled down 28,000 square foot organic food store. The overall size of the development would be 58,000 square feet, rather than 67,000 square feet.
According to the North Raleigh Coalition of Homeowner Associations’ (NORCHOA) blog, the new development would still have a traffic impact of 5,000 extra trips per day (down from 6,000) and the site would still have limited access, almost exclusively off of Dunn Road.
“Clearly, even at this smaller size the traffic impact will be significant,” the blog post states.
Commissioners approved the rezoning 8-1, citing its consistency with the 2030 Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use Map. Council will have to have a super majority to pass the rezoning.
