Livingston Land Use Board OKs recommendation to rezone 38 Love's Lane to mixed use

The Livingston City Land Use Board voted 4-0 on May 14 to recommend that the City Commission change the zoning for a parcel at 38 Love's Lane to mixed use, a step the city must take after the parcel’s recent annexation.

City planner Jennifer [last name not provided] told the board the parcel was not zoned before annexation and that “the city is required to to zone properties. Once annexed, then I think we will have 90 days to do so.” She said the owners (Tierra Yoch) are under contract to sell to Laterra Partners, which intends to lease the property to the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Jennifer clarified that “government entities are not subject to our zoning regulations. So that is a very important distinction,” because the parcel will remain subject to the city’s zoning rules while leased to a federal tenant.

The nut of the staff recommendation is compatibility: Jennifer said the surrounding area includes high-density residential, highway commercial and existing mixed-use zoning on the north side of Interstate 90, and that a mixed use designation would allow the office use proposed by the potential buyer. She recommended the board forward the mixed-use designation so future commercial development can proceed through the city’s established review processes.

Board members and staff highlighted several procedural requirements that will apply if the commission approves the zoning change. Jennifer said the proposed office building would trigger an administrative site-plan review because of its anticipated size and parking demand (she referenced thresholds such as commercial area square footage and parking counts). She said the site-plan review will evaluate traffic, road widths, fire access, and other infrastructure improvements and that “they will be required to go through the administrative process of site plan review.”

On traffic, Jennifer said the development is expected to generate more than the city’s 50-trip threshold that triggers a traffic impact study and analysis; the study will estimate trip generation (by square footage, number of employees or offices), turning movements at nearby intersections and level-of-service impacts. She said the nearest signalized intersection likely to be analyzed is Love’s Lane at U.S. 89 South and that required improvements could include changes to intersections or road widths if the analysis shows a diminished level of service.

Jennifer also explained utilities are “almost to the property” and that the property owner will be responsible for the cost of running and upsizing water and sewer lines as needed; because the use would be commercial, the building will be required to be fire-sprinkled. She told the board the gateway overlay zoning district could be applied later if the parcel is zoned commercial or mixed use; the overlay is not applicable to residential zoning.

During deliberations, John [last name not provided], a Land Use Board member, made the motion to “change the zoning to mixed use.” The motion was seconded and, after no public comment, the board voted yes: Frank [last name not provided] — yes; John — yes; Forrest [last name not provided] — yes; and Jesse Wilcox, chair — yes. The board’s vote was recorded as a recommendation to the City Commission to adopt the mixed-use zoning for 38 Love's Lane.

The board did not decide site-plan, design, or infrastructure specifics at this meeting; those items will be addressed during the administrative site-plan review if and when an application is submitted. Jennifer said the property’s exact ownership and the lease arrangement will determine whether the gateway overlay is applied and when additional design standards would be required.

The Land Use Board adjourned shortly after the vote. The zoning change now moves to the City Commission for final action.