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Council adopts rezoning for 118–120 E. Virginia to allow small-scale commercial uses
Summary
The council adopted an amended ordinance to rezone 118 and 120 East Virginia Street from R-2 to C-2 with a narrowly written UDC limiting allowed commercial uses to furniture retail, lawn mower sales/repair and lawn-mowing service; APC recommended approval with eight affirmative votes.
The Evansville Common Council on Jan. 27 adopted an amendment to rezone property at 118 and 120 East Virginia Street from R-2 (residential) to C-2 (commercial) to allow a used furniture store and related low-intensity services.
Cassie Virgen of the Area Plan Commission told the council the property held a history of commercial use and had been granted legal nonconforming status decades ago; APC staff noted the city’s 2035 future land use map recommends residential uses but that the APC recommended approval of the rezoning with eight affirmative votes. The submitted UDC narrowly limits permitted activities to lawn mower sales, lawn mower repair, lawn mowing service and furniture retail sales and specifically prohibits outdoor storage.
Property owner Christopher Corbin told the council his plan is to host a woman-owned used furniture business in the front and a small-engine repair/lawn-mowing service in the rear, with most activity occurring indoors and only modest customer flow. Council members asked about parking and whether outdoor storage was proposed; Corbin said parking could be arranged by adding gravel and that operations would be internal. No members of the public spoke against the rezoning.
Roll-call vote: Councilwoman Mosby, Councilman Hieronymus, Councilwoman Carruthers, Councilwoman Kayla Lindsay, Councilman Brinkmeyer, Councilwoman Allen, Councilman Green, Councilman Johnson, Councilman Trockman — 9 ayes, 0 nays; ordinance R-20-24-35 amended declared adopted.
Why it matters: The rezoning converts an existing commercial building (formerly a collectible shop) to limited commercial uses intended to activate a long-vacant storefront while explicitly limiting outdoor storage and higher-intensity commercial activities.
Council records show APC staff noted the rezoning is not fully consistent with the comprehensive plan’s residential recommendation for that block; the council nevertheless approved the amendment after hearing from the owner and APC staff.
