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Department of Community Development
Reference: St. Elizabeth's Church Block Rezoning
To: Mayor Richard N. McLean and Members of City Council
Through: Manuel Esquibel, City Manager
Prepared By: Jason Bradford, AICP, Planning Division Manager
Date Prepared: March 23, 2015
PURPOSE
In response to demonstrated support from several property owners in the area, together with a review of the overall zoning trends and potential opportunities in the area, staff is proposing a rezoning of the west side of the block that is bound by Bridge Street on the north, S. 3rd Avenue on the west, Bush Street on the south, and S. 4th Avenue, on the east. Staff is also proposing the inclusion of the property addressed as 25 S. 4th Avenue within the proposed rezoning area. (Please see attached map.) According to the Land Use and Development Code, Section 17-8-80, Zone Changes, the City Council may initiate a change in the zoning designation for an area of the City.
BACKGROUND
St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church, located at 76 S. 3rd Avenue, approached the Planning Division with a request to rezone the church's property from the existing zoning designation of C-1 (Local Retail) to a zoning designation of DT (Downtown), in order to market the sale or lease of the church's parsonage house, located at 70 S. 3rd Avenue, to a wider range of potential users than are currently available under the C-1 zoning. Staff informed the church that "spot zoning" of an individual property, when it is not adjacent to the zone district being sought, is generally discouraged. However, staff suggested that if the church could demonstrate support for a rezoning from property owners in the area, especially residential property owners, staff would present the City Council with a city-initiated rezoning proposal for a larger area, as deemed appropriate. In the past, the proposed area to be rezoned is part of a general area that has been studied by the City as a potential area wher...
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