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Council delays rezoning of Georgia Pacific’s 500 Day Street site after developer seeks more time
Summary
Georgia Pacific told the Common Council it has received offers on the 500 Day Street property and asked the council to delay a downtown rezoning; the council agreed and held the rezoning until April 15 to allow additional work with potential buyers and city staff.
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Common Council agreed on Tuesday to hold a rezoning decision for the 500 Day Street property after Georgia Pacific told the council it has received offers and asked for time to negotiate with potential buyers.
Chris Brennan, public affairs manager for Georgia Pacific’s Green Bay operations, told the council the company had received “best and final offers” and was negotiating contract terms. “Our ask is that the common council delay this rezoning decision until the city can develop an appropriate plan with a potential buyer,” Brennan said.
Council members and nearby residents raised questions about the possible uses a buyer might pursue if the property were sold under its current general industrial zoning. Several speakers and a representative of a local rail/industrial stakeholder argued for retaining light industrial options as a buffer between heavier industrial uses and residential areas.
Brad Piett, representing the Fox Valley group that had submitted comments to the council, urged a more conservative approach: “We think that the conversion of this industrial site straight to downtown is probably not the most appropriate action at this time, and that instead a conversion to light industrial would be more appropriate,” he said.
Council members asked whether a sale could close before the city had a chance to negotiate desired uses; Brennan said Georgia Pacific intended to work with the city but could not guarantee timing. Brennan said the company hoped to return with more information in about three to four weeks, but cautioned each offer required review by an Atlanta-based real estate team and senior leadership.
City staff explained a technical constraint: the site is a single legal parcel. Director Renier Wade said the city could rezone portions only if a legal description creating separate parcels existed; that legal descriptor is typically prepared by a surveyor at the property owner’s direction. “It is 1 parcel. So 1 zoning needs to go with that 1 parcel,” Wade said, noting the city could work with the owner or a buyer if a legal description were produced.
After discussion council members voted to hold the rezoning for the 500 Day Street site until the April 15 council meeting. During the hold council members and staff said they would continue to talk with the property owner and prospective buyers, and the council sought assurances the city would be consulted if a sale progressed.
No formal rezoning ordinance was adopted at the March 18 meeting.
