Planning commission recommends approval of Westland Development agreement and zoning changes for Canopy Business Park

The Linden City Planning Commission on Sept. 9 voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council approve a development agreement, a general‑plan amendment and rezoning for a four‑building office‑warehouse project in the Canopy Business Park on 800 West.

Staff described the proposal as four office‑warehouse buildings totaling about 132,000 square feet to be constructed on three parcels; renderings and a concept site plan were shown to the commission. Michael Florence, planning staff, said the developer proposes two wood/brick buildings (A and B) and two tilt‑up concrete buildings (C and D) with a maximum building height of 35 feet to the top of the parapet. The developer sought a 30‑foot setback from adjacent residential property rather than the city’s typical 40‑foot commercial‑to‑residential setback; staff and commissioners discussed landscaping, lighting and the presence of an existing drainage easement and new trail that limit available buildable area.

Why it matters: the set of actions would change the future‑land‑use designation from flex office to flex commercial, rezone the property from Research and Business to Regional Commercial, and tie development standards to an agreement between the developer and city. Those approvals would allow a mixed…