Commission delays rezoning at De Quindre and John B to allow conditional terms

The Warren Planning Commission on Oct. 20 postponed action on a standard rezoning request for property at the northeast corner of De Quindre Road and John B Avenue to its Nov. 3 meeting, after staff recommended a rezoning with conditions and the applicant agreed to prepare a draft voluntary offer.

Attorney Brandon Casta represented the purchaser and presented the application on behalf of Nabil Kesto (applicant) and the seller representatives. The petitioner seeks to consolidate three zoning districts (C-1, R-1P and P) into one C-3 (wholesale and intensive business) classification to allow expansion of a business-to-business wholesale operation. Rob Crockmole of De Quindre Plaza LLC and the property owner also addressed the commission, saying they support an owner-occupant redeveloping the currently vacant parcel.

Planning staff recommended postponement or a conditional rezoning because the C-3 classification permits a broad set of uses (for example, used-car lots, open storage or certain industrial uses) that planning staff said are undesirable given nearly 1,000 feet of residential frontage along John B Avenue. Staff asked that a concept or conditional rezoning include commitments on setbacks, landscaping, curbing, a 15-foot setback on John B and De Quindre, prohibitions on open storage and a site concept scaled to 1" = 50'.

During discussion City Attorney and planning staff advised the petitioner that a voluntary offer of conditions could be prepared and reviewed by the city attorney and included as a rezoning-with-conditions agreement to be approved by city council. Planning Director Ron Wirth said one alternative would be a use variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), which would apply only to the applicant, but the petitioner said time constraints on the property purchase made the conditional rezoning pathway preferable if it could be completed quickly.

Attorney Casta and the applicants committed to working with city staff to prepare a draft rezoning-with-conditions agreement and return on Nov. 3. Commissioner Duzay moved to postpone the item to the Nov. 3 meeting; the motion was seconded and carried on roll call. Planning staff will draft the voluntary offer and will coordinate with the petitioner and the city attorney to finalize the conditional language before the Nov. 3 hearing.

If the petitioner cannot complete a conditional rezoning in time, staff indicated the ZBA variance pathway remains an option; either way, the commission indicated it would expect explicit language about prohibited uses and a concept site plan before forwarding a rezoning recommendation to council.