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Area Plan Commission recommends rezoning at 5201 Cratsville Road for dog daycare, contingent on UDC and signage limits
Summary
The Evansville-Vanderburgh Area Plan Commission voted 11–0 to recommend rezoning 5201 Cratsville Road from C‑1 to C‑4 to allow a dog daycare and boarding facility, contingent on a use‑and‑development commitment (UDC) to be filed with the city by Dec. 10 that limits certain C‑4 uses and signage.
The Evansville‑Vanderburgh Area Plan Commission voted unanimously on Dec. 5 to recommend that city council approve a rezoning of 5201 Cratsville Road from C‑1 to C‑4 to allow a dog daycare and boarding facility, provided the applicant files a use‑and‑development commitment (UDC). The UDC must be filed with the APC and city clerk by Dec. 10, staff said.
Staff told the commission the site lies in an area the future land‑use map designates for parks, open green space or residential uses and concluded that "the request to rezone the site to C4 to allow commercial use would not be consistent with the comprehensive plan." The applicant, Melody Hart, told the commission she and her engineer had struck through uses on the C‑4 list that they do not intend to pursue and offered to make that marked copy part of the record.
Commissioners focused questions on practical limits the UDC would impose. Hart said planned signage would be wooden and attached to the building — "there wouldn't be anything electronic because I don't want to disrupt the neighbors," she said — and that she expects to employ two people. Commissioners also discussed buffers and green‑space plantings shown on the site plan.
Some members pressed whether higher‑intensity uses such as off‑track betting or billboards could arise later under C‑4 zoning. A representative for the petitioner said the owner is open to specific restrictions; commissioners proposed language in the UDC to eliminate certain retail, service and entertainment uses and to prohibit billboards.
Commissioner Walters moved to recommend approval contingent on the UDC (to include the applicant’s marked exclusions and signage limits); the motion was seconded and carried on a roll‑call vote recorded as 11 yes, 0 no. The commission's action is advisory and will go to the Evansville City Council for final action on Dec. 16.
Next steps: the petitioner must file the UDC with APC and the city clerk by Dec. 10 to ensure the commission’s recommended conditions accompany the request to council.
