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Chester council introduces ordinance to bar trades/headquarters from mixed-use districts
Summary
City of Chester introduced Bill 5 on first reading to prohibit construction-company and tradesperson headquarters in downtown and other mixed-use zoning districts and to set outdoor storage limits in industrial-commercial zones. Staff said the measure protects the city’s mixed-use redevelopment goals.
City of Chester council on Nov. 10 introduced Bill 5, a zoning amendment that would bar construction-company and tradesperson headquarters from several mixed-use districts and set a cap on outdoor storage in light industrial commercial (LIC) zones.
Planning staff said the change would remove headquarters—often associated with pole barns, parking lots and exterior material storage—from C‑1R and C‑2R mixed‑use districts, the central business district (CBD) and the W‑1 waterfront district. “CBD is our central business district,” planning staff said, and C‑1/C‑2R are “mixed use districts where we encourage a mix of commercial and residential.” Staff argued the headquarters uses “really just do not support our mixed use vision for the City,” citing visible outdoor storage and industrial‑type structures.
Council members asked how the ordinance would affect businesses already operating in those zones; staff said the restriction is aimed at new or relocating headquarters and that existing industrial operations are more appropriate in LIC, MIC, CHIC or other industrial districts. The ordinance text, as presented, also would add a maximum percentage limit for outdoor storage in the LIC zone and provide a definition for “construction company or tradesperson headquarters” in subsection 1365.02.
The item was introduced on first reading; no final vote was recorded in the meeting transcript. Further details, including whether the measure includes a grandfathering clause or a compliance timeline for existing businesses, were not specified in the material presented.
