The town board could start 2012 by asking landowners in the town’s expanded Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) for their input into rezoning the land.

Since the Wake County Board of Commissioners approved the addition of 2,179 acres into Wendell’s ETJ in July, town planners have tried to rezone the land to fit town needs, while not impacting the people already living there.

The staff has tried to rezone the new ETJ as close to Wake County zoning as Wendell zoning gets.

In some cases, however, the designations don’t exactly match. Under town rules, lots must be larger than what the county required. In other cases, the rules allow the lots in town to be smaller than those allowed by the county.

There are also differences in other areas including the required width of the lots and the amount of space builders must leave between the property line and where the home sits on the lot.

But the slight differences have left some lots that don’t conform to town requirements.

In a handful of residential developments that are built or already planned, there are about 130 lots that are non-conforming - in the width of the lot, the total acreage of the lot, or both.

Former Commissioner Sid Baynes had pushed the planning staff to allow variances for the non-conforming lots.

The planning staff prefers the option of a zoning text amendment change for the town’s RR or 30,000 square foot residential lots.

They proposed rezoning the remaining non-conforming lots R2 or R3, which cover the size standards the lots fall into, so the owners would be able to develop the individual properties.

At the Dec. 19 planning board meeting, the ETJ zoning changes won approval by a 7-1 vote, meaning that’s what town board members will be asked to consider..

Only planning board member Lee Batson opposed the zoning changes, voicing a concern that Wendell lot widths were smaller than what was required under Wake County zoning.

Town Planner David Bergmark explained that the standards set for Wendell zoning only set a minimum lot size, developers have the option to design larger lots.

The zoning changes, and the recommendation of the planning board, will go back to town commissioners Jan. 9.

Before the town board votes, they will schedule a public meeting to allow residents and landowners to comment on the zoning plans.