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Commission recommends rezoning of 623 and 645 Locust St. from M-3 to M-2 to allow mixed-use redevelopment
Summary
The planning commission voted to forward a rezoning request for 623 and 645 Locust Street from M-3 (Mixed Corridor) to M-2 (Mixed Large Neighborhood) to the city commission with a recommendation for approval; staff said M-2 better fits the applicant’s plan for a mixed-use building with ground-floor commercial and upper-floor residential.
The Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Commission voted Aug. 27 to forward a rezoning request for 623 and 645 Locust Street to the City Commission with a recommendation for approval. The request would change zoning for the combined 1.12‑acre site from M-3 (Mixed Corridor) to M-2 (Mixed Large Neighborhood) to support a mixed-use redevelopment with ground-floor commercial space and residential units above.
Planner Drew Bilby told commissioners the rezoning is needed because M-3 requires a higher proportion of nonresidential floor area (as described in the staff report) and the applicant’s plan proposes a lower nonresidential percentage. Bilby summarized the proposal: rehabilitate existing buildings on the long, narrow lot (623) into a restaurant and demolish small storage sheds on the eastern lot (645) to build a new mixed-use structure with commercial on the first floor and dwelling units above.
Bilby said the site is inside Tier 1 of the Urban Growth Area and that staff found the rezoning would conform to the comprehensive plan and the character of the neighborhood around the Locust–North Seventh corridor. “Staff recommends forwarding the rezoning request for Z25-0009 to the City Commission with a recommendation for approval based on the findings presented in the staff report,” Bilby said.
Architect Paul Warner, representing the applicant, said M-2 “just seems to fit the site way better than M-3” and described the project as a three‑story mixed-use building with ground-floor commercial and residences above; he said the team will preserve buildings that merit saving and convert others into a restaurant. Commissioners asked about prior zoning under the old code; staff said the previous Commercial Strip (CS) district generally transferred into M-3 under the new code, which left property owners in this location pursuing a rezoning to a lower-intensity mixed district to match the proposed development.
No public speakers were recorded on the rezoning item. After discussion the commission made and seconded a motion to forward Z25-0009 with a recommendation for approval; the motion passed with no recorded opposing votes in the meeting transcript. The case will proceed to the City Commission for final action.
Clarifying details: the two lots total about 1.12 acres and will be combined by a minor subdivision; 623 contains existing buildings planned for rehabilitation into a restaurant, and 645 contains small storage sheds proposed for demolition to enable the mixed-use structure; staff noted M-3 carries a higher nonresidential percentage requirement (50% as described in the staff report) while M-2 requires a lower nonresidential minimum (25% as described in the staff report).
