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Mount Pleasant considers removing most housing from commercial zones to preserve space for businesses
Summary
Councilmembers reviewed draft commercial zoning changes that would remove single-family, townhouse and multifamily as permitted uses in commercial zones, discussed grandfathering for existing mixed-use properties and debated a two-acre minimum for creating new commercial zones while seeking flexibility for parcel-by-parcel business expansion.
Mount Pleasant city leaders spent a large portion of their Oct. 28 work session reviewing proposed changes to the commercial zoning ordinance that would eliminate most residential uses as permitted in commercial zones.
The amendment under review would bar single-family homes, townhouses and multifamily developments from being established as permitted uses in newly designated commercial zones. "That's the reason why we want to remove it — because commercial keeps getting ate up by fourplexes," a councilmember said during the discussion, arguing the city should preserve commercial land for businesses.
Planning staff explained the draft still allows mixed-use where commercial uses occupy the ground floor and residential sits above. Ryker, the planning staff member presenting the ordinance text, said the language also leaves existing mixed-use buildings in place as nonconforming or "grandfathered" uses rather than forcing immediate removal. "Existing ones are grandfathered in," a councilmember confirmed.
The group also debated a line in the draft that requires a minimum contiguous commercial zone area of two acres when creating a new commercial zone. Ryker told the council that the current code treats the "minimum zone area" as the total contiguous area required to establish a new zone and that the draft does not automatically reclassify existing single lot commercial properties. He said the two-acre rule applies when a brand-new commercial zone is created, not when a single business seeks rezoning of adjacent lots.
Several members asked for explicit language to allow incremental expansion of existing commercial areas when a business acquires adjacent parcels. One councilmember offered the example of a State Street business that might want to add neighboring lots to enlarge a commercial footprint and asked for code language permitting extensions without forcing a contiguous two-acre rezoning. Ryker indicated staff could add wording to allow such parcel-by-parcel expansions through the rezoning process.
Councilmembers also discussed enforcement and process implications, including how the change would affect current residential units in commercial districts and what applicants must show during rezoning proceedings. No formal action or vote was recorded in the transcript; staff was directed to revise the draft to clarify grandfathering and to add language permitting certain expansions and process steps for rezoning.
