Planning commission approves reclassification of West Baseline lot from transit‑oriented business to industrial

Washington County Planning Commission on Sept. 17 approved a plan amendment to change the land‑use designation of a 0.36‑acre vacant lot on West Baseline Road from Transit Oriented Business to Industrial. The commission, acting as the decision maker for this quasi‑judicial case (25‑160‑PA), voted 5‑0 to adopt the change after staff recommended approval and no members of the public testified.

Staff said the site’s physical context — a wall and light‑rail tracks to the north, a five‑lane arterial to the south and industrial uses immediately to the east and west — makes it poorly suited to a transit‑oriented designation. Tricia Garisco, associate planner with the Washington County Department of Land Use and Transportation, summarized the staff recommendation: “Staff recommends the Planning Commission approve the plan amendment.”

The staff report described the lot as undeveloped, about 0.36 acres with roughly 100 feet of frontage on West Baseline Road. Staff said the parcel is more than one‑half mile from the nearest light‑rail station and farther than one‑quarter mile from the nearest bus stop, with the nearest marked crosswalks about a…