The Tuscaloosa Planning and Zoning Commission voted Dec. 15 to forward a rezoning request for 820 21st Avenue East to the City Council with a not‑recommended recommendation.

Staff presented Z3025, a request by Seth Richardson to rezone roughly 1 acre from neighborhood commercial (NC) to general commercial (GC). Staff said the parcel sits on the edge of corridor commercial and multifamily future‑land‑use designations and that the petition did not specify a final tenant or use (staff presentation, SEG 309–346). Commissioners asked for clarification about right‑of‑way zones near University Boulevard and how the map treats institutional and residential parcels.

Richard Henry of Wright Space Commercial, representing the applicant, told the commission that potential tenants need the ability to store equipment outdoors and that NC prohibits outdoor storage. "We've had landscape supply companies and event‑staging businesses who can’t store product outside under NC," Henry said, describing the property as having a substantial lay‑down yard (petitioner remarks, SEG 460–486). He said staff encouraged rezoning rather than seeking a use variance.

Commission discussion focused on how outdoor storage and security screening would be handled. City staff recited the outdoor‑storage standard: stored materials must be enclosed and screened by an opaque masonry wall sufficient to screen materials from public rights‑of‑way and adjacent residential development, or alternately a 35‑foot buffer with canopy and understory trees (SEG 540–554; SEG 750–757). Several commissioners expressed concern that masonry walls might be impractical along the elevated University Boulevard corridor and asked whether alternate screened fencing could meet the intent.

Some commissioners said rezoning without a specific tenant or use creates uncertainty about future impacts. "I have heartburn about rezoning a property without knowing exactly what's going to be done with it," one commissioner said (commissioner comment, SEG 619–624). Staff noted that the zoning code no longer permits use variances as a remedy, so the applicant cannot pursue a use‑specific variance in ZBA process (staff explanation, SEG 627–637).

On roll call the commission recorded five votes opposed and four in favor, and the board directed that Z3025 be sent to the City Council with a not‑recommended recommendation (vote summary, SEG 936–971).

What happens next: The City Council will receive the rezoning ordinance and make the final decision. Because the Planning & Zoning Commission’s action was a recommendation, it does not change zoning today.