Planning commission recommends rezoning of 5003 Red Street after applicant presents petition and neighborhood support

The City of Columbia Planning Commission on May considered a request to change the zoning of 5003 Red Street (referred to in testimony by the applicant as “Rhett Street”) from Neighborhood Activity Center (NAC) to Community Activity Center (CAC). The commission ultimately voted to recommend approval after hearing testimony from the property owner and neighborhood supporters.

The applicant, Ronita Caesar, said she purchased the property from the city after city staff advised the site could accommodate her planned rim-and-tire retail business. “I just want to provide great customer service, safe customer service, and I want to provide the service that I was initially told that I could do at that particular location,” Caesar told the commission, adding she had collected about 400 petition signatures and letters of support from nearby businesses and community…