Planning commission recommends rezoning 7177 Columbia Blvd. to enable police station

The St. Helens Planning Commission recommended that City Council rezone 7177 Columbia Boulevard from General Commercial to the Holton Business District and forwarded that recommendation at its public hearing.

Planning staff described the measure as a map amendment and emphasized it was a recommendation to council, not final approval: "The public hearing is now open. This is a legislative land use hearing," Chair Shoemaker said at the start of the hearing, and planning staff later said, "we're simply talking about changing the color of the zoning map, to enact the different zoning group, which allows things, such as a police station." The commission voted 4-0 to recommend the zone change.

Why it matters: Planning staff told commissioners the amendment would correct a small area of General Commercial zoning surrounded by Holton Business District zoning — what staff described as a form of spot zoning — restore the map boundary originally considered in 2009 and make explicit that a public safety facility, including a police station, is a permitted use in the district. Staff also said the…