Planning commission recommends rezoning of 50 North Hancher Street to A-3 residential

The Coldwater Planning Commission on an unspecified date voted to recommend that city council rezone an 18-acre site at 50 North Hancher Street from the C-2 commercial district to the A-3 multifamily residential district.

Staff told the commission the request, submitted by Wesley Kinsley McKinsey (known as Ryan), was circulated in mailings and published for the public hearing. Staff recommended approval, citing surrounding residential uses and the city master plan’s identification of the area as a residential transition zone.

Robert (planning staff) said the application included required notice steps, with 16 mailed notices sent within 300 feet of the property and publications dated March 30. He told commissioners that rezoning could create some nonconforming setbacks because the existing building sits near lot lines and would not meet A-3 side- and rear-yard setback requirements. He also said the parcel met lot coverage and height limits and met the A-3 minimum lot-width requirement (about 66 feet) cited in the city’s zoning rules: “The request is to consider rezoning of the 18 acres of land currently zoned C-2 to A-3, in accordance with section 7.6 of the zoning ordinance,” Robert said.

Applicant Wesley “Ryan” McKinsey declined to speak at length during the public hearing. One nearby resident, Matt McCurley, who identified himself as a renter at 56 North Hampton Street, urged the commission to consider on-site parking: “My biggest concern is parking… Parking seems to be very limited in that area,” McCurley said. Staff said the city’s ordinance requires a minimum of two spaces for single-family uses and characterized the site as able to meet that minimum; staff estimated the existing concrete and gravel areas could provide roughly three to five on-site spaces.

Commissioners discussed that the A-3 district allows a broader range of residential uses than C-2 and noted that any rezoning requires consideration of all potential uses permitted in A-3, not only the use the applicant intends. After discussion, a commissioner moved to forward the rezoning request to city council as presented; the motion carried.

The commission’s action is a recommendation to city council; any formal change in zoning must be made by the council. Staff indicated they would work with the applicant and city council to schedule the council hearing and any required public-notice steps.