Council cleans up ‘mystery zoning,’ approves rezoning and conditional-use permit to allow daycare at Moonlite Road site

Dave Knopfick, Gardner’s Community Development Director, told the City Council staff found a ‘‘mystery zoning’’ remnant: a C1 commercial zoning strip that cuts through the former New Life Church property on Moonlite Road and extends onto two adjacent single-family lots. Knopfick said the mismatch appears to be a vestige of an earlier zoning code and complicates state licensure and building use for a proposed daycare.

"We found a piece of remnant zoning...it was a C1 commercial district that goes...beyond the eastern boundary of this property," Knopfick said, explaining the C1 district’s restrictions and how those restrictions split the existing building’s allowable uses.

Staff recommended downzoning that C1 sliver to R1 and pursuing a conditional-use permit (CUP) to allow the daycare to operate across the full building footprint. Knopfick said the rezoning required by staff would carry no application cost for the applicant and would correct zoning for two adjacent residential properties.

Council discussed whether the city should retain commercial zoning or replat property lines to align with zoning. Knopfick said two alternatives exist: replat to align the parcel with the commercial district boundaries, or rezone the sliver to residential and then manage future uses by conditional-use permit. He described downzoning as the simpler fix and noted the applicant agreed.

The council accepted the Planning Commission recommendation and passed Ordinance No. 2,816 changing the zoning classification under Title 17 and then adopted Ordinance No. 2,817 approving Conditional Use Permit 204-3052 as recommended by planning staff. The clerk recorded roll-call votes in each case (affirmative votes were recorded for the listed councilmembers; ordinances passed).