Gastonia Planning Commission Meeting - October 14, 2026

The Gastonia Planning Commission met on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 5:30 PM in City Council Chambers. Chair Chad Gorley presided; Commissioners Garcia, Deanna Murphy (Ward 2), Call Harris (Ward 4), and Julie Coffee (Ward 5) were present. Commissioners Chapman and Howe were absent, although the chair noted they had acknowledged they might arrive later. A quorum was declared. No commissioner reported calls or contacts. The main action was a unanimous recommendation to the City Council on a Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) text amendment creating a new tobacco/vape and similar retail establishments use, along with approval of amended minutes and staff updates.

Minutes Approval

• The commission considered the September 3, 2026 meeting minutes. Commissioner Coffee raised corrections: (1) the minutes reversed the order of her statement about tenants needing flood-zone notification and the applicant's statement about raising the site above flood zone certification level; (2) her explanation for moving to deny the Union Road special use permit was omitted; and (3) closed-forum discussion of traffic and safety concerns for the existing road and proposed build-out was not included.
• City Attorney Charles Graham noted minutes are not verbatim and asked for direction to compare her recollections against the record.
• A motion to approve the minutes as amended was seconded and passed unanimously; the chair and vice chair were to review the amendments before the minutes were signed.
• Note: The source materials did not include the written minutes document, although the agenda listed it as an attachment.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No speakers signed up for the public hearing on the UDO amendment. Attendee Mr. Marusso said he came to listen and appreciated the commission's work, but did not testify. The public hearing was closed after the board's discussion.

Discussion Items

UDO Text Amendment - Tobacco/Vape & Similar Retail Establishments (File #202600407)

• Assistant Planning Director Joe Gates, AICP, presented the proposed amendment, which would add a definition in Section 2.7, add the use to the Section 7.1 Table of Uses, and add supplemental regulations in Section 8.2.45.
• The proposed definition describes a retail establishment in which the sale of tobacco products, alternative or synthetic nicotine products, vapor products or devices, consumable hemp or cannabinoid products, kratom, smoking or vaping paraphernalia, or similar retail products constitutes a principal component of the business.
• The use would not be permitted in residential, mixed-use, or downtown districts. It would be permitted by right in qualifying commercial districts outside the mixed-use and central business districts, and in the IU (Urban Industrial) district, subject to supplemental regulations.
• Proposed supplemental regulations include: a 1,000-foot separation from residentially zoned property, measured from property line to property line; a 2,000-foot separation from schools, daycare facilities, recreation centers, museums, parks, and, by the adopted amendment, libraries; a 1,500-foot separation from another similar facility; compliance with federal, state, and local laws; existing legally permitted uses becoming legal non-conforming; street-level windows and doors not obstructing a view into the business from the public right-of-way; and no more than one such use on the same property or in the same building.
• Staff reviewed recent ordinances from Fayetteville, Wake County, King's Mountain, Kinston, Cumberland County, and Southport. Staff identified more than 20 existing tobacco/vape shops in Gastonia, mostly along Highway 74, Highways 274/321, Garrison Boulevard, and Hudson Boulevard; a map of eligible parcels would be created if the amendment were approved.
• Board discussion and staff clarifications included: the definition's principal component language would not make a gas station or convenience store a tobacco/vape establishment just because it sells some of those products; the amendment is land-use and zoning regulation only and does not change product regulation; existing legally permitted shops would be legal non-conforming and may continue, change ownership, or change names, but cannot intensify the use and would lose non-conforming status if the use ceases or is replaced; applications submitted before adoption would be reviewed under the old ordinance, while new applications after adoption must meet the new standards; enforcement would follow normal zoning enforcement through inspections, notices of violation, and civil penalties.
• A commissioner asked whether the window-obscuring rule could be enforced against existing businesses; staff answered yes, if the ordinance is adopted, the new window standard could be cited in a notice of violation even though the use itself is grandfathered.

Other Business & Staff Updates

• The November 5, 2026 Planning Commission meeting will be canceled because of the election; a special meeting is scheduled for November 10, 2026.
• Applications are open for the UDO rewrite steering committee; staff requested help publicizing it. The rewrite is expected to take about 18 months.
• City Attorney Charles Graham updated the commission on the Union Road special use permit order: the order has been drafted but will not be signed until the amended minutes are finalized; no appeal has been filed; if appealed, the appeal would go to Superior Court and be heard by a judge de novo, and the 30-day appeal window starts when the order is signed.
• Mr. Graham announced his retirement; November 2026 will be his last month with the city. Commission members thanked him for his years of service.

Key Outcomes

• Unanimous motion to recommend approval of the UDO amendment to the City Council, with the addition of library to Section 8.2.45(B). Motion by Commissioner Coffee, seconded by Commissioner Harris.
• Unanimous motion to adopt the statement of consistency and reasonableness, finding the ordinance consistent with the Gastonia 2050 comprehensive plan and applicable small area plans, and reasonable and in the public interest. Motion by Commissioner Coffee, seconded by Commissioner Murphy.
• Minutes of September 3, 2026 approved as amended, unanimous.
• The commission's actions on the UDO amendment are recommendations; the City Council will make the final decision.