Council approves rezoning for 913 West J Street to commercial business district

The Hastings City Council on a 7-0 vote adopted Ordinance No. 4,791 on a request to change zoning for property commonly addressed as 913 West J Street from R-1 (urban single-family residential) to C-3 (commercial business).

City planner Amber Bathon told the council the parcel is about 1.5 acres, currently split between R-1 and C-3 zoning, has an existing apartment building with a gravel parking lot and is shown on the city’s future land use map as commercial retail with a Highway 6 overlay district. Bathon said surrounding uses are a mix of commercial and industrial and that the proposed rezoning would bring the apartment into conformance with surrounding development.

At the public hearing, applicant Daniel Hernandez, who gave his address as 2705 Lakeview Avenue, said he sought the rezoning “to convert that area from R-1 to C-3.” The planning commission had recommended approval at its March 4 meeting by a 7-0 vote.

Councilmember Asch moved approval of Ordinance No. 4,791; the motion was seconded and the council voted 7-0 to adopt the ordinance.

The action makes the entire parcel C-3, aligning zoning with the city’s future land use designation and, per staff, allowing the existing apartment to conform to local zoning rules. No conditions or amendments were recorded in the council action. The ordinance vote concluded the public hearing on this item.

The council’s approval is limited to the rezoning request before it and does not itself authorize development permits, building work, or changes to site improvement standards; those steps require separate applications and approvals.