A zoning meeting has been scheduled to discuss the future of Rowan Park. Rowan Park is located at 725 West Rowan St. It is a mixed green space spread across a little over 12 acres near downtown Fayetteville. A $1 million skate park was recently completed on-site, with a ribbon-cutting being held on August 28, 2020. The park also houses a playground, a disused tennis court, and a large covered picnic pavilion area used as a stage and for yoga classes, animal sculptures and a building associated with the Lions Club of Fayetteville, Inc., built-in 1956.

Rowan Park is currently zoned Mixed-Residential 5 (MR-5). Defined by the city, MR-5 allows for a wide variety of residential housing at moderate to high densities. Also allowed are places of worship, post offices, police substations, daycare facilities and limited small-scale neighborhood-oriented convenience retail. The proposed rezoning would shift the green space to a Community Commercial (CC) zoning district. The city defines CC as allowing for medium to high-intensity retail, service and office use with higher density residential use on the upper floors of nonresidential establishments or as stand-alone buildings.

The public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. in the Festival Park Plaza Training & Development Center at 225 Ray St, Suite 122. Citizens are invited to submit comments in advance and up to 24-hours after the meeting. The hearing will then be continued until a date after the comment period has ended. Written comments or evidence may be submitted to jenniferbaptiste@fayettevillenc.gov. Those wishing to speak at the hearing should call 910-433-1612 before 5 p.m. on the hearing date to sign up.

Citizens can obtain additional information by calling the Planning Division at 910-433-1612. Individuals can attend the meeting via Zoom. The meeting link is https://fayettevillenc.zoom.us/j/86087712996?pwd=aVk4M1B2T09yZytkdDFxNUJIRTF3dz09. Password: 56103.