Planning board recommends rezoning 1410 Wilmot Avenue to Neighborhood General to allow four-unit building

The Panama City Planning Board on July 14 recommended that the City Commission rezone 1410 Wilmot Avenue from Neighborhood Residential to Neighborhood General, a change the applicant said would allow a quadplex in an existing church building and create additional on-site parking. The board’s motion to recommend approval passed on a roll call vote.

The applicant and owner was identified as Gennaro Medrano; Tony Medrano spoke to the board as an applicant/representative and described plans to convert the larger portion of the existing building into four units while leaving the adjacent single-family house intact. “It's going to be all built together…in the back is where the parking space will be,” Tony Medrano said, describing an intention to place parking behind the building to reduce street parking pressure.

Neighbors and nearby residents opposed the rezoning at the Planning Board hearing, saying the change would permit nonresidential uses and increase traffic and pedestrian exposure on a street without sidewalks. Robert Gilmore, who lives at 1406 Wilmot Avenue and said his family moved into the neighborhood in 2018, told the board that Neighborhood General zoning allows uses beyond multifamily housing — including daycare, corner stores and other commercial uses — and that change would threaten the area’s “walkable neighborhood” character. Gilmore asked whether rezoning the church parcel would also rezone the adjacent house; staff and the owner said the application addressed the parcel(s) as they are currently titled and that a parcel split could be done to keep the house on a different zoning classification if the owner chose to do so.

Planning staff said parcels adjacent to and across the street from the site are already zoned Neighborhood General, and noted that Neighborhood General allows all uses allowed in Neighborhood Residential plus additional institutional and commercial allowances. Board members asked whether the quadplex could be accommodated without rezoning; staff said Neighborhood Residential allows only two dwelling units per parcel and could not accommodate the four-unit plan without rezoning. During discussion the owner said he would be willing to split the parcel so the house could remain single-family while rezoning the portion with the church building.

The board took a roll call vote after a motion and second; recorded votes at the meeting were Board Member Carroll — yes; Board Member Stamps — yes; Board Member Barker — yes; Board Member Rich — yes; Chairman (recorded at roll) — yes. The board’s recommendation carries to the City Commission, which will hold the required public hearings (first hearing: Aug. 12; second hearing: Aug. 26) before taking a final decision.

The rezoning request was presented as case CPCPLN2020-5694; staff noted the application packet included the applicant’s materials and the neighborhood plan district context. The board’s action at this meeting was a recommendation only; final authority for rezoning rests with the City Commission.

Planning Board members and staff emphasized during discussion that development approvals will still be subject to site plan review, setback and parking requirements at the development stage, and that any departures from permits issued by other agencies (for example, dredging or state permits on waterfront projects discussed later in the meeting) are addressed separately in their respective processes.

The matter now moves to the City Commission for public hearings in August.