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Planning Board

Town of Holly Springs · Planning Board
Tuesday, September 23, 2025 at 7:00 pm

Regular meeting RezoningComprehensive planLand conversion and large developmentPublic facilitiesSchools and educationSubdivision and site plansTransit

Agenda document Full packet Minutes Meeting page Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Approved 1Approval of Minutes: July 22, 2025 Approved as amended, 9-0.

Read from the agenda's recorded outcomes. Where the board published minutes, those are the record — this is a pointer to them.

What's on this agenda

Holly Springs' Planning Board recommended that the Town Council approve a rezoning for a Duke Energy substation off Deer Path Road and, on a divided vote, a Holly Springs Business Park PUD amendment that would ease electric-vehicle parking requirements for Pine Springs Academy. The board also reviewed recent Town Council land-use decisions, including a denied major subdivision, and got an update on the town's microtransit service.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

The board heard from Duke Energy's attorney and engineers on a proposal to rezone 45.25 acres from rural residential to business and research technology, plus 6.11 acres for related use, to build a substation off Deer Path Road; the rezoned acreage includes a separate 6-acre parcel Duke plans to sell to Amgen for future expansion. Members asked about noise, visibility from US 1, fencing, and traffic, and staff and the applicant said no disruptive noise or nearby neighbors were expected. The board recommended approval unanimously.

For the Pine Springs Academy PUD amendment, the applicant asked to limit electric-vehicle-ready parking requirements to staff and visitor spaces rather than the full UDO standard, arguing school parking should be treated differently than retail parking. Several members pushed back, questioning why the issue wasn't raised earlier in the development process, while others agreed the requirement might not fit a school's needs. The board recommended approval 5-3 and separately asked staff to study the town's EV parking rules more broadly. In its review of recent Town Council actions, the board noted the council had denied the Village at Harris Lake major subdivision, approved a long-term care facility on Ralph Stephens Road, and continued a development plan amendment on North Main Street to October 21.

How the votes went

The board approved its amended July 22 minutes 9-0, and unanimously (9-0) recommended approval of the Duke Friendship Substation rezoning. On the Pine Springs Academy PUD amendment, it voted 5-3 to recommend approval, with members Kessler, Crandall and Bess opposed, and separately voted 8-0 to ask staff to further research the town's EV parking requirements generally. Member Prizer recused himself from the PUD amendment item over a relationship with Pine Springs Academy; that recusal passed 8-0. The board adjourned 8-0.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

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Agenda items (5)

Public hearing · 2Staff or committee report · 2Minutes approval · 1
  1. 1 Approval of Minutes: July 22, 2025
    Minutes approval
    Approved as amended, 9-0.
  2. 2 Duke Friendship Substation Rezoning (Deer Path Rd.) 25-REZ-04
    Public hearing Rezoning
    A rezoning of 45.25 acres from rural residential to business and research technology, and 6.11 acres to a related business district, to build a Duke Energy substation, with the remainder eventually sold to Amgen.
    Board recommended approval to the Town Council, 9-0.
    • Pin 0629624446 · no matching parcel on file
    • 0 Deer Path Rd · Duke Energy Progress INC · 24 acres · assessed $2,173,026
  3. 3 Holly Springs Business Park PUD Amendment (Pine Springs Academy) 01-PUD-03-A05
    Public hearing RezoningSchools and education
    A PUD amendment to limit electric-vehicle-ready parking requirements at Pine Springs Academy to staff and visitor spaces rather than the town's full UDO standard.
    Board recommended approval to the Town Council, 5-3, and separately asked staff to research the town's EV parking requirements more broadly, 8-0.
  4. 10.b Town Council Official Action Overview
    Staff or committee report Land conversion and large developmentPublic facilitiesSubdivision and site plans
    Staff reviewed recent Town Council decisions: denial of the Village at Harris Lake major subdivision, approval of a long-term care facility on Ralph Stephens Road, a continuance of a North Main Street development plan amendment to October 21, and approval of a microtransit contract.
  5. 13 Development Services Report
    Staff or committee report Comprehensive planTransit
    Updates included a promotion within Development Services, a Comprehensive Plan amendment in long-range planning, and a briefing on the town's microtransit service.

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