Toledo zoning committee forwards four zone-change requests and an alley vacation to City Council

The Toledo Zoning and Planning Committee on Nov. 13 voted by unanimous consent to forward four zone-change requests and one alley-vacation application to the full City Council for consideration at its Nov. 18 meeting.

The first item (case Z25-0026) would change the zoning at 1009 South Avenue from CR (regional commercial) to RD6 (duplex/residential). An applicant representative told the committee the property is a single-family rental and said the commercial designation is “just kind of holding us up” when trying to refinance. Planning staff recommended approval to align the zoning with the property’s existing residential use. Council Member Gaddis moved to refer the matter to City Council as approved; with no objections the committee granted the referral. The clerk noted the applicant does not need to appear before council.

Case Z25-0030 on Douglas Road would change properties currently zoned IL (limited industrial) to mixed commercial/residential to allow a business owner to consolidate multiple businesses into existing buildings. Planning staff said the change supports the city’s plan to reuse commercial buildings. Council President Williams asked whether the applicant was expanding from another location; the applicant affirmed she was. The committee forwarded the item to full council by unanimous consent.

Case Z25-0029, at 4015 Roanoke Road, was presented by an applicant who said the property has always functioned as a duplex and was likely mislabeled as office commercial. Planning staff recommended a downzoning to RD6 to match the property’s historic use and facilitate refinancing; the committee referred the case to council.

At 3031 Douglas Road (case Z25-0025) owner Marcus Johnson said cash offers from investors and financing difficulties prompted a request to change the parcel from IL to CN (neighborhood commercial). Planning staff again recommended approval and the committee sent the item to council.

A separate item (V-388-25) sought vacation of a 14-foot paper alley and a 15-foot strip adjoining a lot. Staff said the alley is unlikely to be improved and the planning commission recommended approval subject to three conditions; Council Member Gaddis recommended referring the matter to the Board of Revision, which the committee approved.

Planning staff told the committee a number of studies remain outstanding — including a healthy-food overlay, retroactive modifications of certificates of appropriateness for historic districts, a demolition-by-neglect tax amendment, and a zoning-code rewrite for which a consultant selection is imminent. Staff said a local historic-building moratorium will expire in January and that staff continue work on local landmark designations for an initial 15 sites.

All referred items are scheduled for consideration by the full City Council on Nov. 18. The committee adjourned with no further business.