Council allows flexibility for 39 North Walnut: adds three ground‑floor commercial spaces and allows short‑term rentals upstairs

Milford City Council voted 8‑0 to grant a conditional‑use permit for a mixed‑use building at 39 North Walnut Street, allowing the ground floor to be configured as up to 10 commercial tenant spaces and permitting the four upstairs units to be used as short‑term rentals or long‑term apartments.

Rob Pierce, the city director sitting in for the city manager, told council the property is zoned C‑2 (Central Business District) and that the application is reviewed under chapter 230‑13(c)(1) and 230‑45 of the city code because short‑term rentals are treated like motel/hotel uses and because the change affects multiple tenant spaces on the lower level. The Planning Commission reviewed the application on March 18 and recommended approval, 7‑0.

Applicant Zachary King, who owns the Penny Square building at 39 North Walnut, said he split a former larger office into multiple smaller retail and service tenants — including a bookstore, a photographer and a bicycle business — and would like the flexibility to operate one of the four upstairs apartments as a furnished short‑term rental (Airbnb) while keeping the other units as longer‑term residences. King told the council the building features a commercial fire‑alarm and suppression system and that the short‑term rental would be professionally managed.

Council members asked about the nature of the short‑term unit and whether it would be a fully equipped apartment; King confirmed it would contain a full kitchen and be professionally furnished. No members of the public testified in opposition; no formal conditions were attached beyond standard conditional‑use review criteria.

The council motion to approve the conditional‑use application passed on a roll call vote recorded as 8‑0.