ThisWeek CW 01/12/2012
The Old Town committee voted unanimously Jan. 9 to forward zoning changes to council that would establish an Old Town zoning district and rezone 495 parcels.
New council members Steve Donahue and Rick Deeds joined John Bender on the Old Town Committee for its first meeting of the year Jan. 9. Deeds, the committee’s new chair, agreed to sponsor the legislation at the Jan. 17 city council meeting.
“These items were here last month when we had a lot of input from the public and we made changes and brought the text back,” city planning and zoning administrator Andrew Dutton said. “Most of the zoning changes are from residential to Old Town single family and multifamily or from general commercial to Old Town commercial. There are a few exceptions of properties that went from commercial to residential, however.”
At a December public hearing about the changes, several people whose commercially zoned property would be changed to residential asked about the changes.
“The discussion of the rezoning from general commercial to Old Town single family about the properties at (159, 160 and 163) W. Waterloo St., which we proposed going to residential, now go to Old Town commercial,” Dutton said. “However, the properties on Liberty and East Mound that are currently zoned commercial we found inappropriate, so they’ll become Old Town single family.”
Donahue said he was concerned about communication with the property owners and asked if those people were specifically informed of the change.
“Yes,” Dutton said. “One of the owners had some questions but the other four we didn’t hear back from.
“I would say this is to make zoning districts more logical downtown. The prohibited and conditional uses are set for a better fit for Old Town.”
According to Dutton, the changes only affect the area currently subject to the Landmarks Commission review, but future discussions about adding additional areas to the Old Town zoning district are possible.
“When we were originally talking about adding areas north of the railroad tracks, that began slowing the process so we decided to save those discussions for another time,” he said.
During the planning and zoning commission meeting which followed the Old Town meeting, the commission also unanimously approved sending these zoning changes to city council for a vote.
City council will hear a first reading of the legislation at the Jan. 17 meeting.
Dutton said the 500 affected property owners would be notified prior to the meeting.
The next Old Town Committee meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., Monday, Feb. 13, at Town Hall, 10 N. High St.