Urbana planning commission continues rezoning request for 904 East Main

The Urbana Planning Commission on Thursday continued a request to rezone 904 East Main Street so the property can be combined with the adjoining parcel to the east and potentially used to expand Good Friends Animal Hospital.

For the record, Aymirusi, Planner II for the City of Urbana, told the commission staff recommended approval of Plan Case 2517M25. Aymirusi said the subject lot is about 7,300 square feet, contains a deteriorated single‑family structure slated for demolition, and that aligning the zoning with the adjacent parcel (908 East Main, already zoned B‑3) would support “incremental redevelopment” consistent with the 2025 Imagine Urbana comprehensive plan. “Staff are recommending approval of the zoning requests,” Aymirusi said.

The petitioner, Dr. Susan Norris, one of the veterinarians at Good Friends Animal Hospital, told the commission the clinic bought 904 East Main to combine it with the existing hospital property. Norris said the house at 904 East Main was in disrepair and that the owners hope to expand the clinic in the future but have “no immediate plans” to build; she also said the facility provides medical care, surgeries and limited medical boarding, not routine commercial boarding.

Commissioners pressed staff and the petitioner on the choice of district. The chair cautioned that a rezoning to B‑3 grants a broad set of permitted uses and raised concerns that some uses allowed in B‑3 — “like a liquor store, a tavern or a nightclub” — could be inappropriate for the Neighborhood 1 place type identified in the comprehensive plan. Commissioner Fell and others discussed whether B‑1, a less‑permissive business zone, could allow animal‑hospital uses while limiting other commercial uses.

Commissioners and staff discussed procedural options: continuing the case to allow staff to answer detailed zoning questions; allowing the petitioner to withdraw and, if desired, reapply with both parcels rezoned together (which would require a new case number and additional legal notice); or denying the application. Staff noted that rezoning both parcels would require a new case and new notices because it would change the 250‑foot notification boundary.

Commissioner Fell moved to continue Plan Case 2517M25 to the next regular Plan Commission meeting; Commissioner Sims seconded. Roll‑call votes were recorded as “yes” from Commissioners Rose, Sims, Hue, Allred and Fell; the motion passed. The continuance is intended to give staff time to answer technical questions (setbacks, frontage/build‑to rules, alley vacatur status) and give the petitioner time to decide whether to withdraw and refile both parcels under a different district.

Staff materials, as presented, note that the existing Good Friends property was formerly a gas station and that environmental and site‑remediation issues connected with that prior use had factored into past decisions about zoning. The staff presentation cited LaSalle and Sinclair criteria for map amendments, and concluded the request would remove a deteriorated structure, improve neighborhood conditions and support a long‑standing neighborhood business.

The commission did not take a final vote on the rezoning; next steps include staff follow‑up on setback and frontage rules and the petitioner’s decision about whether to withdraw and reapply to rezone both parcels.