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Council approves zoning changes allowing single‑use storefronts and drive‑thrus on short Southwest corridor
Summary
After discussion about preserving a mixed‑use vision, the council approved first‑reading ordinances amending the Southwest Neighborhood Master Plan and the Planned Urban Neighborhood commercial subarea to permit single‑use storefronts and drive‑thru facilities along a limited frontage of Chrome Avenue.
The City Council on March 19 approved companion zoning amendments to the Southwest Neighborhood Master Plan and the Planned Urban Neighborhood commercial subarea that allow single‑use commercial storefronts and drive‑throughs on a limited frontage along Chrome Avenue.
Derek Cook of the Development Services Department told the council the text amendments apply to the west side of Chrome Avenue from Southwest Fifth Street to the city's border and are intended to allow single‑use activity along a short corridor that had previously required mixed use. Cook said the change will not prevent mixed use elsewhere in the plan area but will permit single‑use storefronts and, where requested, drive‑thru facilities along the specified frontage.
Councilwoman Avila urged caution and proposed that single uses and drive‑thrus be made subject to special exception review so the city could examine individual proposals at council level; she asked that those cases be returned to council rather than approved administratively. Avila emphasized the council's interest in preserving the charrette vision for a more mixed‑use, pedestrian‑oriented corridor. Other council members replied that the change targets a short, roughly three‑block stretch (Fifth to Eighth/Lucy Street) and said they were comfortable allowing administrative approvals for the limited frontage.
The council voted on first reading on two companion ordinances (zoning text amendment and master plan amendment). The motions were moved and seconded on the record at the meeting and the roll calls recorded affirmative votes by the council members present; both companion items carried.
Why it matters: The amendments alter long‑range plan requirements in a discrete area of the Southwest neighborhood and change the mix of permitted storefront frontages along Chrome Avenue. Council members framed the debate as a choice between preserving a mixed‑use charrette vision and allowing limited flexibility to accommodate commercial single‑use development on a short stretch of corridor.
What's next: The items passed first reading at the March 19 meeting; staff said additional details and any special‑exception review processes would be developed through the formal ordinance implementation and subsequent permitting work.
Direct quotes in the meeting included Derek Cook saying the change would "introduce an avenue where we can generate pedestrian activity along Chrome and Washington Avenue," and Councilwoman Avila asking that drive‑thru permits be treated as special exceptions so they "come back to council."
