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Hearing examiner recommends MU-2 rezoning for vacant site at 240 E. 20th despite staff concerns over parcel size
Summary
The hearing examiner recommended approval of a rezoning from D8 (existing) to MU-2 for the property at the northwest corner of Alabama and East 20th Street, citing neighborhood support and consistency with corridor redevelopment; staff recommended denial because the parcel is small and unlikely to support mixed-use development.
The hearing examiner recommended April 10 that the Metropolitan Development Commission approve a rezoning of the property at 240 East 20th Street from D8 to MU-2. The petitioner, represented by attorney Russell Brown and contract purchaser Joe Zinkin, argued the small infill parcel is appropriate for neighborhood-serving commercial or mixed uses and that commitments offered to neighbors mitigate potential impacts. The examiner sent the recommendation to the MDC for its May 7, 2025 hearing.
Russell Brown told the hearing examiner the site has been underutilized for many years and that MU-2 zoning better matches the corridor’s evolving character. Brown said the petitioner worked with the nearby homeowners association and offered commitments that exclude certain undesirable uses, set limits on trash pickup and lighting, and regulate hours related to alcohol service. The petitioners also agreed to perimeter landscaping and a commitment addressing site cleanliness.
City planning staff recommended denial, with Kathleen explaining the main reason was parcel size: staff said MU-2 is typically applied to larger parcels and that the small lot makes genuine mixed use unlikely. Staff pointed to an existing variance permitting an 840-square-foot restaurant on the property in 2002 and said a variance of use might be a narrower path to allow a single restaurant on site. “Staff is recommending denial, and it’s primarily because of the size of the site and the fact that there is really no mixed use here,” Kathleen said.
Petitioner representatives said the MU-2 classification would preserve flexibility for future owners and allowed them to propose a modest reuse consistent with nearby MU‑2 zoning examples. Joe Zinkin, a local developer contracting to buy the property, said neighbors told the petitioners they preferred MU-2 with the commitments over leaving the site vacant or reverting to intense uses. “We would want a user that’s beneficial to the HOA and to the neighborhood,” Zinkin said.
After reviewing the letters of support from Fall Creek Place Homeowners Association and other neighbors in the file, the hearing examiner said she was persuaded the proposed classification and commitments fit the corridor context and recommended approval to the MDC.
The MDC will consider the hearing examiner’s recommendation on May 7, 2025. If the Commission endorses the recommendation, the rezoning would still require final administrative steps and may later be subject to City-County Council action for final adoption, depending on the procedure for that zoning classification.
