The Planning Commission on Sept. 8 discussed whether the city should change how it zones small commercial pockets — known locally as “neighborhood business” areas — and whether the more intensive commercial districts (B3 and B4) and existing square-footage thresholds for shops and shopping centers are producing unwanted uses next to homes.

Planning staff framed the issue around maps that show many small commercial pockets across town and a large difference between existing retail/shop size categories. “Shopping centers is anything more than 1,” planning staff said, using the example of a storefront with two tenants, and noted that the ordinance currently treats centers under and over 100,000 square feet very differently. Staff also gave recent permit totals for context: in 2024 the city issued 91 permits, and for the second quarter reported project-cost totals of $2,789,643; so far this year staff said there have been 106 permits totaling $5,988,851.

Why it matters: commissioners said the current rules can permit high-impact uses — gas stations, commercial garages, large shopping centers and certain drive-through restaurants — in areas that remain surrounded by residences. That can affect neighbors through traffic, lighting, signage and property values, commissioners said, and can lead to rezoning requests that change single blocks rather than follow a clearly defined neighborhood standard.

Most important facts
- No formal zoning change or vote occurred at this meeting; the discussion was exploratory.
- Planning staff outlined options: keep districts as written and add more site-by-site review (special exceptions), rezone selected thoroughfares from B4 to B3, create a new district, or use overlays to scale signage, lighting and setbacks in specific corridors.
- Staff suggested adjusting shopping-center size thresholds (examples discussed: raising the small-retail cap from 1,000 square feet toward 5,000 square feet and treating medium centers around 20,000 square feet differently from full regional centers) to avoid allowing unexpectedly large centers in small neighborhoods.

Discussion details and differing views
Planning staff said many of the town’s “little pockets” differ in character — for example, downtown Marsh versus a business park near Chase Road — and that the ordinance’s broad categories produce a “huge gap” between small retail and large shopping centers. Staff noted examples around town (the Marsh building, Eastgate, Martin’s) and explained that the code currently allows shopping centers below 100,000 square feet to locate in multiple districts; that, staff said, can place centers that are large for a neighborhood into areas that were intended for smaller, service‑oriented uses.

Commissioners repeatedly raised gas stations and commercial garages as high-impact uses that are currently permitted in B4 (the code’s most intensive commercial district) and sometimes allowed on thoroughfares in neighborhood-business zones. One commissioner said, “I don’t wanna be a part of another truck stop in Downtown Logansport.” Planning staff replied that if a use is moved from as-of-right to a special-exception requirement, the Board of Zoning Appeals would consider surroundings and could impose conditions — for example, lower signage heights, dimmer canopy lighting, screening or placement of parking away from residences.

Several commissioners urged caution about overlay zones after recounting a local example where an overlay later permitted a truck-stop–scale use and many overnight trucks. Commissioners discussed trade-offs: requiring a special exception for many uses forces more hearings and case-by-case decisions, while rezoning large swaths might grandfather existing uses and change expectations for property buyers. Staff suggested notifying affected owners and neighbors if rezonings are proposed and providing written materials and maps to commissioners for further review.

Direction vs. formal actions
The meeting produced no formal land-use decisions. The Planning Commission approved the previous meeting’s minutes (correction noted: Judy present, John Brown absent) and then adjourned. Planning staff said they would share the maps and calculations that underlie the discussion so commissioners can review specific parcels and consider options (rezoning parcels, creating overlays, or setting new size thresholds for shopping centers). That transfer of materials was discussed as a next step, not as a binding decision.

Background and context
Commissioners and staff described the city as having multiple small commercial “downtowns” (North End, South End, West End) born from historic development patterns; the West End includes older industrial rail-oriented lots and a mix of commercial garages and service businesses. Staff warned that permitting the same intensities in every neighborhood can encourage parcel-by-parcel rezoning and incremental commercial expansion into areas that remain residential on one side of the street.

What’s next
Staff will provide the commission with the maps, the shopping-center square-foot calculations and suggested threshold options for further review. Any rezoning, overlay or ordinance change would require further hearings and formal public notice; commissioners emphasized that property owners and neighboring residents would receive notification before any change.

“Food for thought,” Planning Commission President Tom Nelson said at the close of the discussion, summarizing that the conversation was intended to help shape a community standard rather than to adopt immediate rules.