2015-77 REZONING PROPERTY 2800 North Water Street

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DEVELOPMENT SERVICES MEMORANDUM No. 15-52 December 16, 2015 TO: Honorable Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe and City Council FROM: Tim Gleason, City Manager Billy Tyus, Assistant City Manager Suzan Stickle, Senior Planner SUBJECT: Rezone 2800 North Water Street from M-1 Intense Commercial/Light Industrial District to B-2 Commercial District SUMMARY RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the rezoning to B-2 Commercial District. The City Plan Commission voted 6-0 to recommend approval of this petition at the December 3, 2015 meeting; the minutes of the meeting are attached. BACKGROUND: The subject site located at 2800 North Water Street is currently zoned M-1 Intense Commercial/Light Industrial District and consists of approximately 6.64 acres. The eastern half of a commercial strip center is located on the subject site. The petitioner proposes to rezone from M-1 Intense Commercial/Light Industrial District to B-2 Commercial District so that the entire commercial strip center is located in the same zoning district and to allow for all those uses permitted in the B-2 Commercial District. Rezoning the site from M-1 Intense Cammercial/Light Industrial District to B-2 Commercial District will decrease the intensity of the uses permitted on the site and not create any adverse effects on the adjacent properties or the City as a whole. It will also allow the entire commercial strip center to be located in the same zoning district. Additionally, the City has in recent years made efforts to promote this corridor as Commercial/retail, providing Enterprise Zone incentives for retail development both here and along Eldorado St. It represents one of the city's most heavily traveled corridors and currently stands ripe for retail redevelopment. Both corridors currently facilitate high traffic counts, infrastructure is in place for development, they are highly visible and represent areas that can provide the best return for our investment of incentives. This site has for decades existed as a retail center. The surrounding zoning includes M-1 Intense Commercial-Light Industrial District to the north, south and east and B-2 Commercial District to the east and west and this rezoning request represents the first of what will be several along the Pershing Road corridor to rezone from M-1 Industrial to B-2 Commercial. The Macon County and Decatur Comprehensive Plan shows this area as Retail. The existing uses of the property are permitted uses in the B-2 Commercial District. The permitted uses of the B-2 District are compatible with both the adjacent uses and zoning districts.