Clarksburg council approves first reading to rezone 1400 North Nineteenth from R-3 to R-2

The Clarksburg City Council on first reading voted to rezone 1400 North Nineteenth Street from R-3 (multifamily) to R-2 (single- and two-family and limited conditional uses), a measure council members said is meant to preserve neighborhood character around the Northview/Northfield school property.

The move followed public comment from Anthony Oliveto, who identified himself as representing Washington Irving alumni and urged the city to find a community use for closed school buildings. "The school is actually in better shape than it's ever been," Oliveto said, and he suggested repurposing such facilities as a Boys & Girls Club rather than allowing uncontrolled redevelopment.

Council discussion focused on the legal and practical differences between R-3 and R-2 zoning categories, and on the planning process that would apply if an owner sought redevelopment. Council members asked staff whether R-2 would prevent apartment conversions and learned that while contingent institutional and noncommercial uses remain possible in R-2, a standard market apartment conversion would not be permitted without a separate zoning change or special approval. A council member said the change "gives the planning commission, which you sit on, and council ... the opportunity to say, your plan doesn't work with our vision for the neighborhood."

Council and staff also discussed the Board of Education appraisal and the auction timeline for the closed school building; the appraisal had not been completed at the time of the meeting. A council member noted that if a property sits empty for an extended period, state law can allow a charter school to take an unused school building, a constraint the council said they considered when weighing the rezoning approach.

After roughly 17 minutes of questions and comment, the council moved and seconded the first-reading ordinance and voted "Aye." The motion passed (minutes record: "All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries.").

The ordinance returns for further consideration at a subsequent meeting; zoning changes enacted after second reading could still be subject to appeals and the planning commission review process.