Covington zoning commission denies request to rezone 601 West 21st Ave

The Covington Zoning Commission on Monday denied a petition to rezone property at 601 West 21st Avenue from Neighborhood Commercial (CN) to Regional Commercial (CR).

Nicholas T. Fitzsimmons, the petitioner and listed owner, told the commission he is a lifelong resident and said he sought the rezoning so he might “put the radio tower back for some type of ... FM radio station,” and that a used-car lot was a secondary possibility. City planning staff responded that a radio tower had stood on the property before Hurricane Katrina but that the city’s 2010 zoning code no longer allows that tower as a continuing nonconforming use; staff also noted the lot appears too small under current safety/placement standards to host a modern tower.

Commissioners expressed concern that rezoning the lots and adjacent revoked alley from CN to CR would permit more intensive commercial operations — for example, car lots and other regional-scale uses — next to single-family residences. One commissioner said moving ‘‘from a less intensive to a much more potential intensive sort of use of the property is not something we would look at’’ under the city master plan.

After discussion, a motion to deny the rezoning carried on roll call: Mister Boone — Yes; Mister Davidson — Yes; Miss Swartz — Yes; Mister Dubik — Yes; Mister Hudson — Yes. The denial preserves the property’s existing CN designation, leaving the petitioner the option to pursue uses allowed under Neighborhood Commercial zoning or to work with city staff on alternative proposals.

The commission concluded other business and noted there will be no December meeting; the board is scheduled to reconvene in January.