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Commission recommends rezoning at Burkhart Road to M-1 despite floodplain concerns
Summary
The Area Plan Commission voted 6-2 to recommend rezoning part of 4100 North Burkhart Road from C-2 to M-1 with a broad use-and-development commitment; commissioners and staff flagged the site's location largely within the 100-year floodplain, an extensive permitted-uses list and the need for future development-level review.
The Area Plan Commission voted 6-2 to recommend the City Council approve a rezoning request that would change part of the property at 4100 North Burkhart Road from C-2 to M-1 and attach a broad use-and-development commitment (UDC) to allow an unspecified multi-use development.
Petitioner comments and UDC content: Brett Sturmerson of Morley, representing Do It Right Investments LLP, told the commission the application currently lists a wide range of potential uses and that a clerical error had left a nightclub listed in one UDC item after it had been removed elsewhere. "We did put the nightclub. We took it out in, I think, item number we took it out in item number 3, and then it's back in in number 6. So we would re need to revise that," Sturmerson told the commission.
Floodplain and infrastructure issues: Staff and commissioners emphasized that the entire site lies in the 100-year floodplain and that a regulated Crawford Brandeis ditch and associated floodway cross the property. The staff report and discussion noted that the low elevation would require substantial fill for development and that drainage approvals would involve the county surveyor and the Board of Public Works. "So the whole thing is in in the flood zone," Sturmerson said.
Scope of permitted uses and UDC debate: Several commissioners said the UDC’s long list of permitted uses read like a broad "blank check" and urged the applicant to consider shortening or refining the list. The applicant and supporters said restricting uses too narrowly could hamper marketability and that other nearby M-1 and mixed-use areas function with similarly broad UDCs. Commissioners and staff also discussed aligning the proposed UDC with restrictions used on nearby parcels (for example, limits on loading docks and frontage requirements) and agreed a more restrictive UDC could be prepared for later review.
Support and public comment: Josie McLaughlin, a commercial real-estate agent who said she assisted with the land purchase, told commissioners that there is strong local demand for warehousing and contractor space and that the applicant paid a premium for the site. "There's a high demand. We don't have enough warehousing space, storage, or anything for all the contractors we have locally," McLaughlin said.
Vote and next steps: The commission voted 6-2 to recommend approval and will forward the case to City Council with that recommendation. Commissioners and staff noted that site-specific constraints (floodplain, drainage, and required street acceptance) and development-level review would follow at later stages if the rezoning is approved.
Background: The site was rezoned from R-1 to C-2 in 2021 for a proposed mixed-use project that did not proceed. Staff said the 2035 future land use map recommends a mix of agricultural and mixed uses for the area, and that only a small portion of the parcel is suggested for mixed use. The petition includes no specific development plan at this time, so compatibility of high-intensity industrial uses must be assessed later on a case-by-case basis.
