99-100 REZONING PROPERTY - 1343, 1353, 1361 AND 1369 NORTH MAIN STREET

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COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MEMORANDUM I NO. 99-250 ' October 12, 1999 TO: Honorable Mayor Terry M. Howley and City Council Members FROM: Rolanda Johnson, City Manager � Cecil A. Collins, Jr., Director of C�'tnmunity Development�`�1�� Max Forgey, Senior Plannea��` � SUBJECT: Ordinance Rezoning 1343, 1353, 1361 and 1369 North Main Street The subject petition originally requested rezoning of the premises at 1343, 1353, 1361 and 1369 North Main Street from R-6 Multiple Family Residence District, to B-2 Commercial District. The tract contains appro�mately 0.55 acres and is developed with single family dwellings or vacant lots. The petitioner owns all of the properties sought to be rezoned, and proposes to develop an office complex at the site. The premises are located along the U.S. 51 business route and within the GM Square neighborhood. Upon review of land use and zoning in the area, staff concluded that there has been considerable rezoning to B-2 to the south of Grand Avenue. There are several zoning districts in and axound the site, comprising primarily R-6 to the north and west and office and commercial zoning to the east and south. This area has been designated as multiple family residential land use in the 1990 Comprehensive Plan. Furthermore, the permitted uses in the B-2 zone are akin the uses typically found in "community" shopping centers as defined by the Urban Land Institute. These uses are best accommodated on parcels of ten (10) acres or larger. The City of Decatur has no minimum parcel size for rezoning to the B-2 uses, but the permittecl uses are too intense for a parcel barely one-half acre in size. At the Plan Commission meeting, staff recommended denial of the rezoning as proposed. The subject site abuts an established residential neighborhood that is being targeted by the City for conservation efforts. Staff was of the opinion that rezoning to B-2, the most permissive commercial district in the City, would have been highly intrusive in the neighborhood and may subject the area to further strip commercial development.