A rezoning petition to convert a single-family property at 14212 State Road 23 to an office-buffer district passed the county committee with a favorable recommendation.

Sean Klein, director of the Area Plan Commission, told the committee that the parcel sits on State Road 23 surrounded primarily by single-family lots and that office-buffer zoning is a low-intensity nonresidential district. Klein said the commission recommended approval 9-0 and that the commission denied requested variances for unpaved parking and reduced landscaping; those variances are therefore off the table and the petitioner must provide paved parking and required landscaping.

Matthew Kirkwood of Dan Charter and Associates, representing the petitioner REIT Solutions LLC, said the plan is to convert an approximately 2,600-square-foot former home to an office use. He said the site plan shows about seven parking spaces, and the petitioner expects one to two employees on most days and occasional additional staff for periodic meetings.

Neighbors had raised concerns at the Area Plan Commission about gravel parking and landscaping; Klein said the denial of the variances addressed those concerns. The plan relies on private well and septic systems; the proposed office use is limited by the zoning ordinance to smaller-scale professional office uses and a maximum primary-structure size of 5,000 square feet.

Why it matters: The rezoning allows incremental nonresidential conversion along a developing State Road 23 corridor while maintaining standards for paved parking and landscaping.

What's next: The rezoning goes to the full council for final action.