Monday: rules for commercial drone landing sites, an incentive for a $98M, 170-job expansion, 50 townhomes off North Gibbs Road and a $1.48M police grant.
Mooresville would get its first rules for commercial drone takeoff and landing sites under an ordinance the Board of Commissioners votes on Monday. The same agenda asks the board to approve an incentive for an unnamed company that plans to invest up to $98 million and add at least 170 jobs.
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, at Mooresville Town Hall, 413 N. Main St. Everything below comes from the agenda the town published Wednesday and the staff reports attached to it.
Drone delivery sites: where they could go
The town wrote the drone rules itself. The planning staff report says “advances in drone technology and increased commercial applications” created the need. Read the drone text amendment and staff report (PDF).
The amendment, TA-2026-04, would:
- allow a commercial drone takeoff and landing area only with a special use permit
- limit it to four zoning districts: Corridor Mixed Use, Community Commercial, Hybrid Light Industrial and Industrial
- keep it at least 30 feet from any residential zoning district and 25 feet from any property line
- keep it at least 50 feet from any road right-of-way and from any occupied building not tied to the business
- require a Type B landscape buffer next to an existing home
- limit takeoffs, landings and loading on site to 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., unless the permit allows other hours
- require shielded, downward lighting
An applicant would also have to file a site plan, an operations plan with flight frequency and drone types, safety and emergency procedures, and proof of compliance with Federal Aviation Administration rules. The definition covers delivery, inspections and similar commercial work. It does not cover recreational drones.
Project Avatar: $98 million and 170 jobs
The agenda does not name the company behind “Project Avatar.” It says the company plans to expand, invest up to $98 million in Mooresville and create at least 170 full-time jobs paying an average of $81,550.
The agenda does not give the size of the town’s incentive. It says the grant will be pro-rated to what the company actually invests. The resolution (PDF) cites the state law that lets towns spend money on economic development. It would let Mayor Pro Tem Eddie Dingler or the town manager sign the agreement. Economic development is also listed for the closed session at the end of the meeting.
50 townhomes off North Gibbs Road
D.R. Horton wants to rezone 6.34 acres at 195 North Gibbs Road for up to 50 attached homes, about 7.89 an acre. The land is in town limits, next to the I-77 ramp at Brawley School Road, and is zoned for highway business today. The case is CZ-2026-15.
The planning staff report (PDF) says:
- the homes would be limited to two stories, with 1.5 acres of open space
- traffic would not use Brawley School Road; the site would connect through the neighboring development on Bentree Lane and a new entrance off North Gibbs Road
- an 8-foot sound wall is proposed, and staff “strongly suggest additional buffering” because the townhomes may rise above it
- the request does not match the town’s Mooresville Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan, which marks the site as an industrial center
- the Planning Board voted 6-3 on Aug. 25 to recommend approval, after members raised access, road width, road noise and density
The site is in Ward 4. For homes and schools nearby, see our Brawley School Road neighborhood guide.
A federal grant for 911 and police radios
The board is asked to accept $1,478,000 from the U.S. Justice Department’s COPS Police Technology and Equipment Program. The agenda lists three uses:
- $831,153 to replace end-of-life radio consoles, through a Motorola Solutions contract on Monday’s agenda
- $481,686 to move the town’s CentralSquare system to a cloud platform and add what is needed to bring Mooresville Fire into the communications center, at a later meeting
- $165,161, the remaining money, to upgrade radios in police vehicles, once Motorola sends a quote
Also on the agenda
These are on the consent agenda, which the board usually passes in one vote:
- Turkey Trot closure: North Main Street from Stewart Avenue to the driveway of 950 N. Main St. would close from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, for The Christian Mission’s Turkey Trot. See the closure resolution (PDF).
- Fire station alerting: a $203,918.43 Honeywell contract for a new alerting system at fire stations 1, 2 and 3, paid from this year’s fire budget.
- Rolling Hill sewer: $314,898 for engineering to upsize about 1,725 feet of sewer, build a new diversion structure and evaluate the Byers Creek Pump Station. The agenda says the work is for “anticipated industrial growth.”
- East West Connector: a $269,896.48 payment to the road contractor for the months the project was suspended, Dec. 19, 2025, to April 13, 2026, while telecom and fiber lines were moved. NCDOT staff reviewed the backup, the agenda says.
- 2027 meeting calendar for the board.
The board will also hold public hearings on three small annexations. One, on Statesville Highway, would bring town utilities to about 283,000 square feet of industrial space in two buildings. Another, on Transco Road, is for a proposed continuing care retirement community. The third brings town water to a home at 151 Market Road whose well failed.
The board is also set to schedule Nov. 16 hearings, the planning director’s report (PDF) says. One is a rezoning for a proposed convenience store and gas station called Alcove C-Store, on 4.469 acres.
What it means for you
You can speak at Monday’s public hearings, or send a comment through the town clerk’s public comment page. To find your commissioner, see our guide to who to call in town government. For how rezoning works, see our building permits and zoning guide. If you run in the Turkey Trot or drive North Main Street on Thanksgiving morning, plan for the closure.
Three River Highway rezonings, for 546 homes, come up for hearings two weeks later, on Nov. 2. Here is what each one asks for. We will report Monday’s decisions.
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