Rolesville approves Averette Road townhomes with rental limits

The Rolesville Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, to rezone 16.5 vacant acres at 1101 Averette Road for up to 76 townhomes and a small retail pad. The approval of case REZ-26-0002 came with nine conditions, including a ban on short-term rentals, a cap that keeps at least half the homes owner-occupied and a requirement that the commercial pad be graded and stubbed with utilities before any home gets a certificate of occupancy, according to the town’s project page and the revised conditions of approval dated August 26, 2026.

The vote closed out a hearing the board opened on July 21, 2026, and continued so the developer could add conditions. The case was item 10.b on the September 1 agenda for the 6:30 p.m. meeting at 502 Southtown Circle in Rolesville.

What was approved

The applicant is Lock 7 Development LLC of Raleigh, with principal David Gorman, and the owner is listed as Wake Forest Church of the Nazarene, according to the staff report by Planning Director Stephen Wensman. The land was zoned Residential Medium Density Conditional (RM-CZ), with a small piece in RL, according to the project page. The board split it into two conditional districts:

• About 14.75 acres became Residential High Density Conditional (RH-CZ), limited to 76 dwelling units.
• About 1.74 acres became General Commercial Conditional (GC-CZ), planned for up to 5,000 square feet of strip retail.
• Townhome buildings may contain no more than two attached units, down from three in the June 18, 2026 version of the conditions.

The staff report puts the density at about 5.11 units per gross acre, below the nine the RH district allows, and finds the request consistent with the Rolesville 2050 Comprehensive Plan, which designates the area Mixed-Residential Community. At the July 21 hearing, Gorman and Emily Bosman of Garman Homes described the homes as paired villas and put anticipated pricing at “mid-$400,000s to mid-$500,000s,” according to the meeting minutes.

Rentals, the retail pad and a street connection

The staff report says the board continued the case in July over three concerns: whether the commercial part would ever be built, whether the neighborhood would connect to Barred Owl Trail, and future rentals of the homes. The August 26 conditions answer each one:

• Short-term rental of any home, defined as a rental of less than 30 calendar days, is prohibited.
• No more than 50 percent of the residential units may be rented at any one time, and both rental rules must be written into recorded covenants.
• A commercial area about 50 feet wide and 70 feet deep must be cleared, graded and stubbed with water and sewer before the town issues a certificate of occupancy for any home.
• The developer must make best efforts to buy right-of-way across the tract at 0 Bessie Court so that Street A can reach Barred Owl Trail; if the owner rejects a good-faith offer or does not answer a written offer within 14 calendar days, the street stops at the property line.
• The homeowners association must maintain the common-area landscaping.

Conditions carried over from the June version include a pollinator garden in which at least 75 percent of the plants, excluding grasses, are native milkweeds and other nectar-rich flowers; a connection to the existing greenway at the southwest corner of the site; and a $25,000 donation to a Rolesville Affordable Housing Fund if the town sets one up before the first residential certificate of occupancy. The commercial district also bars 16 uses, among them gas stations, bars, self-storage and vape shops.

A summary of the September 1 meeting published by citizenportal.ai says Commissioner Jenn Bernat made the motion to approve, and that Gorman told the board the up-front pad work would shorten the time between signing a tenant and starting the building. At the July hearing, according to the minutes, Gorman said lenders will not finance the commercial building without a committed tenant, and that he would keep the commercial parcel and build once he has one.

Traffic and the road

The traffic study by DRMP Inc. followed a memorandum of understanding with the town and NCDOT dated April 22, 2026, that assumed 76 townhomes, 5,000 square feet of retail and a 2029 build-out, and covered the intersections of Wait Avenue and Averette Road and of Averette Road and Jones Dairy Road, according to the MOU. The Planning Board packet says the project generates 772 trips on a typical weekday, 50 of them in the morning peak hour and 66 in the evening peak hour. The developer is to build the entrance with an entering left-turn lane with 50 feet of storage. The concept plan also dedicates 25 feet of right-of-way along Averette Road for future widening and shows a 10-foot sidepath, according to the July 21 staff report.

How the case got here

Lock 7 first filed for RH-CZ zoning alone as REZ-26-0001, which the project page shows as withdrawn on August 1, 2026. A neighborhood meeting on April 30, 2026, at the Rolesville Community Center drew 19 residents, and the Planning Board recommended approval 6-0 on May 18, 2026, according to the packet.

At the July 21 hearing, two neighbors, Randy Kerr of 1121 Averette Road and Sarah Owen of 255 Shingle Oak Road in Elizabeth Springs, spoke against the request, citing cut-through traffic and doubts that the commercial commitment could be enforced. Pastor Andrew Kessel, speaking for the church that owns the land, spoke in favor and said the congregation cannot afford to build on the site and would use the sale to buy an existing building. Town Attorney David Neill said a 60-foot flag lot of common area owned by the Meadows at Jones Dairy homeowners association separates the site from Elizabeth Springs. The motion to continue the case to September 1 passed 3-2, according to the minutes. Minutes and video of the September 1 meeting had not been posted on the town’s agendas page as of September 23, 2026.