Smithville staff opens public hearing on 169 South employment overlay; commission discusses permitted uses and limits

The Smithville Planning and Zoning Commission opened a public hearing on the proposed 169 South Employment Overlay District and spent an extended session discussing permitted and discretionary uses, development intensity and how the overlay would shape employment-focused development along the corridor.

Jack, the city’s development director, said the meeting’s purpose was public engagement and to refine use tables before staff and consultants prepare a revised draft. “This is a public hearing to start taking public comment related to it. But this is not intended for a vote,” Jack said, noting the process will include additional public engagement and a later work session with the Board of Aldermen.

Commissioners and staff raised several substantive points: - Industrial classification and enforcement: staff recommended removing the I-1 industrial district from the overlay and instead enabling specific light- or low-impact industrial uses to be allowed only through the overlay’s conceptual-plan review so large-scale industrial parks would not be encouraged. - Fast-charging stations and gasoline/service stations: commissioners discussed differences between accessory EV charging (e.g., chargers in a retail parking lot) and stand-alone fast-charging facilities that resemble service stations; several commissioners questioned whether a dedicated fast-charging facility is appropriate in an employment-focused corridor because it can draw transient users and compete with employee parking. - Solar energy systems: staff proposed allowing rooftop and parking-cover solar as accessory features, while discouraging or excluding large, standalone solar farms that provide little local employment. - Marijuana-related facilities: staff recommended striking cultivation and manufacturing from the overlay and considering dispensaries only, subject to state permitting and local distance requirements; dispensaries were noted for retail sales-tax potential but cultivation and manufacturing carry odor and other site concerns. - Mixed-use residential: commissioners discussed whether certain residential types should be permitted automatically or allowed only through conceptual-plan review; staff said check marks in the table would require proposers to include the use in the conceptual plan for review.

Jack said consultants will revise the use tables and deliver updated graphics and an ordinance draft in roughly two weeks for another public engagement round; staff expects a revised draft back to the commission in time for an August meeting and subsequent Board work session and readings later in the fall depending on the commission’s vote and calendar.

No formal votes were taken on the overlay at this meeting; staff emphasized the overlay’s intent was to encourage employment-generating uses and to avoid land uses that bring little employment value such as storage-unit fields or stand-alone fueling islands.