Area Plan Commission backs amendment to expand courthouse-area zoning limits on ground-floor residences
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Summary
The commission unanimously recommended approval of Unified Zoning Ordinance Amendment 118, which expands the area where first-floor or ground-floor residences are prohibited in commercial areas near the courthouse and Upper Main Street by roughly four blocks.
The Tippecanoe County Area Plan Commission on May 21 recommended approval of Unified Zoning Ordinance (UZO) Amendment 118 to expand the courthouse-proximate and Upper Main Street area where ground-floor residences are prohibited in commercial zones.
Staff told commissioners the prohibition traces to a 1998 ordinance and that Amendment 118 would add about four blocks to the existing district, including parts of Columbia Street and Sixth and Seventh streets and areas on the other side of Ninth Street. The staff report noted several properties in the expansion area currently contain first-floor residences; the amendment would render some of those uses nonconforming. Staff said one property would qualify for an exception allowing a single ADA unit in a non-elevated building and that staff had notified affected property owners.
Dennis Carson, Tippecanoe County economic development director, spoke in support and offered to answer questions. The commission cast a unanimous ballot recommending approval. Staff noted the amendment’s change affects only where ground-floor residential use is permitted in the commercial district; it does not itself rezone parcels or alter uses beyond the ground-floor restriction.
The amendment will proceed to the appropriate legislative bodies for final adoption. No numeric fiscal impacts or timeline for council consideration were specified at the meeting.
