Monroe Planning Board backs rezoning of 219 North Bivens Road for heavy-industrial use

The Monroe Planning Board voted to recommend rezoning 8 acres of the property at 219 North Bivens Road (part of tax parcel 09084035) from General Industrial (GI) to Heavy Industrial (HI) to allow operation of a concrete plant on the rezoned portion.

Planning staff presented the request and recommended approval. Megan Brightheart, planning department staff, told the board the rezoning covers an 8-acre portion of a larger 35-acre parcel at the northwest corner of Stitch Street and North Bivens Road and said the change is consistent with the city’s land use and transportation plan, which designates the area for manufacturing, logistics and aerospace uses.

The request drew questions about existing dwellings, trees and buffering. Albert Rory, a local real estate agent speaking on behalf of Veil Properties (the purchaser) and Datascope (the current owner), said the applicant intends to operate a concrete plant on the rezoned acreage and described plans for buffering: “What we're trying to do is … we wanna put a concrete plant, a concrete plant on that 8 acres.” Brightheart said the parcel currently contains three single-family homes that would be grandfathered uses until development; when development plans are submitted the applicant will be required to provide a tree survey and meet the city’s tree-preservation standards. “When they submit plans for development … they'd be required to submit a tree survey,” Brightheart said.

Planning staff noted the heavy-industrial district allows uses such as concrete plants, lumber yards and towing yards; the staff report recommended approval and described required public-notification steps ahead of the City Council hearing (a rezoning sign posted 10 days before the hearing and letters to adjacent owners within 150 feet).

The board voted to recommend adoption of a resolution finding the proposal consistent with the land use and transportation plan and to recommend adoption of an ordinance amending Section 157.1.2.1 (Official Zoning Map) to implement the rezoning. Both motions carried with the board’s affirmative votes and no recorded opposition; the recommendations will be forwarded to City Council for public hearing and final action.

Members and staff who spoke flagged follow-up items that will be resolved later in the process: tree removal and mitigation will be addressed during site-plan and permitting review, and any required roadway or site improvements will be reviewed by engineering at permit stage. The applicant also said buffering and setbacks are part of proposed development plans.

If City Council approves the rezoning, future development plans and building permits will trigger the city’s environmental, stormwater and tree-preservation reviews, and the required public-notification steps will proceed before the council hearing.