Alpine planning commission votes to recommend denying code change to allow light manufacturing in business–commercial zone

The Alpine City Planning Commission recommended denying a city code amendment to allow light manufacturing as a conditional use in the Business/Commercial zone and to add a definition of "light manufacturing" to the zoning definitions.

Planner Ryan Robinson introduced the item on behalf of the city, saying the request came from a property owner who wants to make an older manufacturing-style building marketable again. Robinson said the city had considered adding a definition and drafting standards so any new manufacturing use would come through a conditional use permit process. "We were recommending doing it as a conditional use permit," Robinson said.

Why it matters: Commissioners and nearby residents raised traffic, noise and proximity-to-homes concerns. The Commission’s denial sends the matter as a recommendation to the City Council and keeps the current prohibition in place unless the council acts differently.

Robinson told the commission that the building in question historically housed candy and other manufacturing and that, under the city’s code, such uses could have been legally nonconforming but that status is lost if a use sits dormant. "Our code says if a use sits dormant or is not used for two years, it loses that legal nonconforming status," Robinson said.

Members of the public and several commissioners described the site’s context: homes, a preschool, a church, small businesses and an elementary school are located within a few blocks. Resident Andy Spencer, who lives at 154 North 200 East, urged preservation of the residential character and said, "The land use decisions that you make actually outlive all of you and all of us in the room." Other neighbors described heavy trucks and odors when a previous manufacturer operated at the site and said current street geometry and pedestrian activity make additional truck traffic undesirable.

Commission discussion focused on transportation access and potential nuisance impacts. Commissioners said Alpine lacks the peripheral industrial areas found in other cities and that heavier manufacturing would likely not locate here because major routes are farther away. Commissioners also noted that existing nuisance and noise ordinances would still apply to any use, but they expressed concern that adding light manufacturing to the Business/Commercial zone would invite uses incompatible with adjacent residential areas.

The Planning Commission voted to recommend denial of ordinance 2025-07 to add light manufacturing as a conditional use and to add a definition to the zoning code. The motion was made on the record and passed unanimously. The recommendation goes next to the City Council for a final decision.

What’s next: The City Council will consider the commission’s recommendation. If the council approves a change to the code, any specific operator would still have to seek a conditional use permit and meet standards the city would attach at that time.