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Staff seeks rezoning to remove split zoning near railroad; neighbors raise wetland and habitat concerns
Summary
City staff presented a rezoning that would convert a set of split-zoned parcels to uniform residential districts (R6 and R10). Planning & Zoning recommended approval; nearby residents said they were told adjacent woodland was protected wetland and expressed concern about housing near their backyards.
City staff presented a rezoning request to consolidate split zoning on several parcels near the railroad into uniform residential districts, principally R-6 and R-10. The Planning and Zoning Board recommended unanimous approval at its March 20 meeting, staff told the council.
The rezoning, staff said, would remove industrial remnants and eliminate split zoning on the subject properties so parcels would no longer contain multiple district designations. A staff presenter described the change as cleaning up a “split” situation: one parcel would revert to the existing nonresidential designation while the others would be placed in residential districts to match surrounding R-6 and R-10 properties.
Neighbors who addressed the council during public comment said they were told previously that wooded land behind their homes was wetland and would not be developed. “We were told numerous times that nothing would be built behind us,” one resident said, describing property referenced as 8Dash240DashPDash00B. John Knox, who said he moved into the area last year, told the council he bought his house for the “beautiful woods that were behind it” and said he would be “really disappointed” if the buffer were developed.
Staff responded that the rezoning would align the properties with adjacent residential districts on Iowa Street to the north and R-8 to the east and that the change is consistent with the city’s land use plan and update. The presenter said many of the parcels are vacant and largely cleared except for buffers near the railroad.
The Planning and Zoning Board’s unanimous recommendation was cited by staff during the presentation; no council vote on the rezoning appears in the available transcript. Questions from the public about wetlands, specific parcel restrictions, and whether portions of the site are buildable were raised at the meeting; speakers referenced communications from consultants (Adams, Holmes) indicating a wetland buffer on one parcel.
The council did not record a formal action on the rezoning in the excerpted transcript. Staff said they could answer follow-up questions and that more detailed maps and notices were available through planning staff.
Without a recorded council vote in the provided transcript, the rezoning remains a pending matter after the Planning and Zoning Board’s recommendation; staff indicated they can supply additional maps and ownership-buffer details on request.
