Planning commission forwards favorable recommendation to city council to rezone Hammond Storage site to I-1, subject to recorded covenant

The Hammond City Planning Commission voted unanimously to forward a rezoning petition for the Hammond Storage site to the city council with a favorable recommendation, contingent on recording a commitment document that restricts specified I-1 uses.

The petitioners, represented by attorney Scott Yaney and developer Amit Patel, sought to reclassify parcels at 3518 Sheffield Avenue and 345130 Sixth Street from a split of C-4 General Commercial and I-1 Light Industrial to a single I-1 designation. Yaney told the commission the project includes a roughly 200,000-square-foot climate-controlled storage building, canopy-covered RV and boat parking stalls (described in the submission as approximately 311 stalls) that will include solar collection on the canopies, and customer amenities including a wash bay, dump station and a family-oriented lounge and dog park.

Petitioner materials and Yaney's presentation argued the development meets the comprehensive plan and the amended North Hammond redevelopment plan by putting long-unused, environmentally challenged land to productive use and increasing private investment and employment. Yaney said the developer previously received redevelopment commission approval and has been coordinating remediation steps with city staff.

Planning staff proposed amending their report to require the recording of a commitment document restricting certain I-1 uses. Commissioners discussed that some prohibited uses would be removed from the allowed I-1 list and that a covenant document would be prepared; staff said additional use restrictions related to hazardous materials may be addressed through the Board of Zoning Appeals. Commissioners also suggested retaining the possibility of rooftop cellular facilities so long as that exclusion was not made absolute.

A roll-call vote recorded seven ayes, zero nays and the planning commission's favorable recommendation was adopted. The commission also adopted the report as preliminary findings of fact. The petitioner was directed to prepare the covenant/commitment document and to coordinate with planning staff; staff asked that petitioners provide a digital copy of corrected materials before delivering mylars.